# Topgolf Cuts $11.3M in Costs by Migrating From VMware to VergeOS Broadcom pricing shift drives major infrastructure replacement across more than 100 global entertainment venues. - **Source:** [Biz & IT - Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com) - **Published:** 2026-10-13 - **Topic:** [Software & Engineering](https://brifing.si/c/engineering) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/8739b11b-f98b-4535-9b12-e4ffb7b1e085 ## Broadcom Pricing Sparks Major Migration Facing an estimated 400 percent cost increase following Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, Topgolf initiated a massive infrastructure overhaul. The sports entertainment company migrated 12,000 virtual machines to VergeIO's VergeOS platform. This architectural shift allowed Topgolf to avoid bundled enterprise SKUs and eliminate over $11.3 million in combined operational costs. ## Decades of Legacy Integration Ends Topgolf previously maintained deep technical roots with VMware, utilizing vSphere and ESXi across more than 100 global venues for decades. In 2017, the company integrated Dell EMC VxRail hyperconverged appliances. Broadcom's decision to discontinue perpetual licensing forced Topgolf to completely rethink its global on-premises data center strategy. ## Hardware Footprint Slashed Significantly Topgolf replaced 650 VxRail hosts with approximately 400 standard Dell PowerEdge servers within six months. The migration reduced six-node VxRail clusters holding 35TB of storage down to three-node VergeOS clusters using just 5TB. Consequently, comparative hardware expenditure dropped by 87 percent alongside a 77 percent decrease in software licensing costs. ## Multi-Tenancy Simplifies Complex Operations Topgolf selected VergeOS primarily for its native multi-tenancy via Virtual Data Centers, which act as isolated data centers. VMware struggled to manage numerous vCenter instances at scale. VergeOS enabled tenant segregation by time zone for seamless maintenance, while allowing nested testing environments inside single clusters without extra hardware. ## Handling Heavy Real-Time Edge Data Topgolf's proprietary Toptracer technology requires machine learning algorithms to track golf balls in real time across venues. A standard 102-bay location generates roughly 40TB of camera network data daily. VergeIO engineers collaborated directly with Topgolf to resolve latency and packet routing issues across all active cluster nodes. ## Retaining Automation via Modern APIs To prevent rewriting existing infrastructure-as-code routines, Topgolf prioritized VergeOS's API-first framework. VergeIO supported rapid integration with tools like Terraform and Ansible during early deployment. This automation consistency allowed the infrastructure team to modernize backend systems while deploying a completely new Kubernetes gaming architecture directly onto edge panels. ## Navigating Third-Party Ecosystem Gaps Migrating away from VMware introduced integration hurdles with third-party software like Rubrik and LogicMonitor. Topgolf substituted Rubrik's baseline data backup with VergeOS snapshotting, while deploying Veeam to address specific enterprise security gaps like ransomware defense and threat hunting that VergeOS could not immediately accommodate internally. ## Broader Enterprise Infrastructure Shift VergeIO reports acquiring roughly 70 new clients quarterly, driven predominantly by enterprise customers departing VMware due to contract renewals. Topgolf secured a five-year agreement instead of VMware's three-year term. The transition highlights a broader enterprise trend of bundling virtualization platform migrations directly with planned physical hardware modernization cycles. ## Sources covering this story - https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/10/topgolf-saved-over-11-3-million-after-leaving-vmware/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._