Containers are easy—moving your legacy system off your VM is not

In today’s fast-evolving cloud landscape, containers have emerged as a powerful technology enabling flexible, scalable, and efficient application deployment. However, while adopting containers is relatively straightforward, migrating legacy systems currently operating on virtual machines (VMs) to containerized cloud-native environments presents significant challenges.

Ryan recently sat down with Dan Ciruli, Vice President and General Manager of Cloud Native at Nutanix, to discuss this complex transition. Their conversation shed light on the dynamic interplay between virtual machines and Kubernetes-managed containers in hybrid cloud setups.

The Role of Virtual Machines in Enterprise Applications

Despite the rise of containerization, VMs continue to play a vital role in enterprise IT architectures. Many legacy systems rely on VMs because of their mature ecosystem, security models, and stability. Business-critical applications often remain tightly coupled to VM environments due to regulatory requirements, complex stateful operations, and performance considerations.

Challenges of Moving Legacy Systems to Containers

Moving monolithic legacy applications off VMs into containers is rarely a simple lift-and-shift operation. It demands thoughtful refactoring, careful dependency management, and re-architecting for microservices and stateless behavior to fully leverage Kubernetes orchestration. Legacy codebases often contain intricate, undocumented behaviors that complicate containerization.

Hybrid Approaches: Making VMs and Kubernetes Coexist

Dan Ciruli emphasized the growing importance of hybrid cloud-native solutions where VMs and containers coexist harmoniously. Nutanix focuses on enabling seamless integration between VM-based workloads and Kubernetes clusters, allowing enterprises to modernize incrementally—preserving mission-critical systems while adopting container benefits at scale.

AI as a Catalyst for Modernization

Artificial Intelligence (AI) introduces new possibilities for accelerating legacy system modernization. From automating code analysis and identifying containerization opportunities to assisting in migration planning and runtime optimization, AI-driven tools can mitigate risks and reduce manual effort.

Conclusion

While containers offer undeniable advantages for application agility and scalability, moving legacy systems from VMs to cloud-native platforms involves navigating technical, operational, and organizational complexities. Embracing hybrid strategies and leveraging AI-powered modernization tools provide a pragmatic path forward for enterprises aiming to innovate without disrupting existing operations.