Platform9 Removes One of the Biggest Barriers to Replacing VMware: Linux Administration

Private Cloud Director now ships with Platform9 OS, a turnkey KVM-ready Linux distribution.

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Platform9, the enterprise private cloud company, today announced updates to its Private Cloud Director (PCD), featuring Platform9 OS, a turnkey KVM-ready Linux distribution. The latest product update removes the Linux administration barrier required for enterprises to exit VMware and accelerate their journey to a modern private cloud. Platform9 OS also offers a secure and tightly validated platform that automatically stays up to date with growing cybersecurity threats, and provides a critical building block for AI applications built on Kubernetes and agentic workloads.

Broadcom's recent VMware acquisition coupled with the increasing AI usage built around Kubernetes, have introduced seismic changes to the virtualization market, and have spurred many enterprise organizations to reassess how they're managing their private cloud infrastructure. Amid this evolution, they're seeking continuity from a familiar, VMware-like experience, enterprise-grade services and software, and flexibility in hardware choices to avoid continued vendor-lock in and increased price unpredictability driven by AI.

A January 2026 survey from CloudBolt found that 86% of IT decision makers are actively reducing their use of VMware. While the global Kubernetes-for-AI-workloads market is projected to grow from $4.8 billion in 2025 to $22.6 billion by 2034. The latest CNCF Cloud Native Survey found the production usage of Kubernetes now stands at 82% among container users, and 66% of AI adopters are using it to scale inference workloads.

"With today's release of Platform9 OS, VMware administrators can deploy, operate, and upgrade an enterprise-grade KVM based private cloud without the overhead of traditional Linux systems administration," said Sirish Raghuram, Chief Growth Officer and Co-Founder at Platform9. "Our design goal for Platform9 OS is that operators do not need to login to the Linux shell, it is intelligently managed by the Platform9 management plane."

Key Feature Updates:

Linux Administrative Updates

Observability Updates

Platform Enhancements

Learn more about Platform9 Private Cloud Director here.

Additional Resource

About Platform9

Platform9 is the enterprise private cloud company, delivering a modern, open, and SaaS-managed platform for running private clouds. Founded by a team of VMware veterans, Platform9 helps enterprises and service providers modernize infrastructure with speed and flexibility, without the complexity of traditional approaches. Its flagship offering, Private Cloud Director, enables organizations to migrate from legacy virtualization platforms and operate cloud infrastructure with a familiar, enterprise-ready experience.

Media Contact

Jason Cardillo

Head of Marketing, Platform9

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SOURCE Platform9 Systems, Inc.