NTT DATA Launches Prossione Virtualization 1.0 Service

NTT DATA launched “Prossione Virtualization 1.0,” a virtualization infrastructure management service based on the open-source software “KVM (Kernel-based Virtualization Machine ).

While the service’s launch plan was announced in March 2025, its general availability follows a four-month preparation period. Tetsuya Shintani, Executive Officer and Head of Technology Consulting at NTT DATA, said, “After we explained the Prossione Virtualization plan in March, we received a tremendous response from customers and partner companies, reaffirming our commitment to in-house management of virtualization infrastructure. Furthermore, the trend toward system sovereignty has led to growing interest in KVM, an open-source virtualization platform. Through the provision of Prossione Virtualization, we hope to expand our customers’ options for virtualization infrastructure.” NTT DATA aims to secure a significant share of the rapidly changing virtualization infrastructure market. As announced in March, Prossione Virtualization is a subscription-based service for managing and operating KVM-based virtualization infrastructure environments. The newly announced Prossione Virtualization 1.0 offers a menu that adds documentation and product support to the core virtualization infrastructure management software, “Prossione Virtualization Manager.” Two options are available: “Prossione Virtualization Subscription” (starting at 900,000 yen/unit/year) from NTT DATA, and “Prossione Virtualization Subscription with AlmaLinux” (960,000 yen/unit/year) from partner Cybertrust, which adds AlmaLinux OS support services. Cybertrust plans to begin offering the latter in the fall of 2025. Optional services such as system integration and training are also available. Kenichiro Hamano , general manager of the OSS Solutions Division of NTT DATA’s Solutions Business Unit , described Prossione Virtualization 1.0 as “an entry-level service that condenses the functionality users desire as a virtualization infrastructure management service.” This service performs the operations required for managing and operating the virtualization infrastructure by installing components called “PVM Agent” for the host server and “PVM Controller” for the management server on the Linux (currently only Red Hat Enterprise Linux is supported) and KVM virtualization infrastructure environment that the user has already built themselves. Features available in version 1.0 include “intuitive management of multiple host servers and virtual machines from a single screen” and ” live migration .””Versione Virtualization 2.0,” scheduled for release in spring 2026, will offer features such as high availability for virtual machines, data migration from existing virtualization platforms, and storage/network management.

“While Version 1.0 focuses on the basic aspects of virtualization platform management, we fully understand that the market demands more functionality for a virtualization platform management service. Version 1.0 is targeted at companies with small-scale environments of around three physical servers that have mastered the basic functions of KVM, as well as companies that have built large-scale virtualization environments but are now finding that costs are no longer justified due to current infrastructure conditions and are considering migrating to a new platform. We encourage customers to start with Version 1.0 and see how it goes. From Version 2.0 onward, we hope to accommodate requests for migration from existing virtualization platforms,” said Hamano.

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One option that meets the needs of a “VMware alternative” “The maintenance costs of our current virtualization infrastructure have changed dramatically, and we’re considering upgrading our systems, but we don’t have any options. We’d like you to help us think about it together. We’ve heard this from many customers, regardless of business or industry. For customers with such concerns, we first offer them options for virtualization infrastructure management products, and then we ask them to consider them while we see how things go.” Hamano explains the background to NTT DATA’s development of Prossione Virtualization as follows: As is well known, Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware and the resulting significant price increases for VMware products have forced many companies around the world, including in Japan, to reassess their infrastructure. Many companies are still considering migrating to a different environment (or continuing to use VMware products) as they look ahead to their VMware contract renewal dates in two or three years. Prossione Virtualization is one option that meets the needs of these “VMware alternatives.” While Shintani prefaced his statement by saying it was “a personal desire,” he expressed a strong desire to capture at least 20% of the domestic virtualization infrastructure market in the future. However, the current virtualization infrastructure market is crowded with competitors, including Nutanix and Red Hat, which target migration from VMware, and hyperscalers, which encourage migration of on-premises environments to the public cloud. NTT DATA emphasizes Prossione Virtualization’s competitive advantages, including “ensuring system sovereignty” and “open source development and support, including KVM.” In today’s rapidly changing global environment, many Japanese companies face risks related to the continued use of their system infrastructure.

By utilizing the virtualization infrastructure management services of NTT DATA, a Japanese systems integrator, Japanese companies can move closer to ensuring system sovereignty by “controlling critical infrastructure within their own country/company.” In addition, the use of open source is often recommended to ensure software transparency and ensure system sovereignty. Shintani emphasized the company’s robust open source development and support system, saying, “NTT DATA has provided numerous KVM-based systems to domestic and international customers, and has a proven track record of stably operating tens of thousands of VMs in systems that must be used for a long time, such as financial institutions. Furthermore, the NTT Group has numerous committers on various open source platforms, including KVM, and we can provide support and knowledge that leverage their deep knowledge and experience in open source.” Hamano added, “KVM is highly regarded as virtualization infrastructure software, but building a KVM environment on your own is not easy and requires advanced skills. For companies that want to use KVM but find it difficult to do so on their own, we believe that Prossione Virtualization, offered by NTT DATA, with its extensive open source experience, could be an option.” However, as Hamano noted, the newly released Prossione Virtualization 1.0 is an “entry-level” virtualization infrastructure management service in terms of both functionality and support.

For example, in version 1.0, users had to procure the virtualization environment (RHEL + KVM) and Prossione Virtualization separately and manage the lifecycle of each. Hamano commented, “NTT DATA is keen to do whatever it can to resolve this inconvenience.” Cybertrust’s “Prossione Virtualization Subscription with AlmaLinux,” announced at the same time, is positioned as a partner solution to reduce the operational burden on users. NTT DATA aims to expand the functionality it supports and strengthen its partner systems by the time of Prossione Virtualization 2.0, scheduled for release in spring 2026. Collaboration with partners with a proven track record in open source, such as Cybertrust, is particularly promising. Prossione Virtualization 1.0, which focuses on the basic functions of virtualization infrastructure management, is likely to be an important test for Japanese integrators to meet the needs for virtualization infrastructure migration, which is expected to become more widespread in Japan from 2026 onward.

SOURCE: Yahoo