New research sponsored by VergeIO and conducted by Informa TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), titled Private AI, Virtualization, and Cloud: Transforming the Future of Infrastructure Modernization, reveals a dramatic shift in how organizations approach IT infrastructure strategy. The study, which surveyed 380 midmarket and enterprise IT professionals across North America, identified four primary forces accelerating the need for infrastructure modernization: virtualization market disruption, rising cloud costs, the operational impact of AI, and a persistent shortage of skilled IT personnel.

According to ESG, 54% of organizations are actively investigating or planning to replace their primary hypervisor, a significant figure given VMware's historically dominant market share. The study also shows that 76% of organizations are re-evaluating their cloud strategies in response to cost pressures, and more than 60% are actively scaling their infrastructure to support on-premises AI initiatives.

"These four pressures are converging at a time when IT teams are already stretched thin," said Scott Sinclair, Practice Director at ESG. "What organizations need now is not just a cloud-like experience or an alternative to legacy vendors-they need simplicity, predictability, and architectural leverage. Solutions like VergeOS are designed to deliver exactly that."

The findings align with VergeIO's latest white paper, Four Forces Accelerating Infrastructure Modernization, which explores how organizations are compressing their IT planning horizons in response to these external pressures. The paper positions VergeOS as a unified software-defined platform capable of replacing legacy virtualization stacks, reducing complexity, and enabling both traditional and AI workloads within the same environment.

"Most organizations don't have the luxury of rebuilding from scratch, and they can't afford to wait," said Yan Ness, CEO of VergeIO. "VergeOS was designed to meet this moment. It eliminates silos, simplifies operations, and restores control-without forcing customers into disruptive re-platforming."

VergeIO was one of the sponsors of the ESG research, which is available now exclusively from VergeIO to industry leaders exploring modernization options. The company will be hosting a webinar on June 26th at 1:00 PM ET, featuring Scott Sinclair and George Crump in a live discussion on the future of data center infrastructure. Register here: https://www.verge.io/live-webinar-the-four-forces-accelerating-infrastructure-modernization/