If your organization still runs VMware vSphere 7 or 8, you are already running against hard regulatory deadlines that carry no grace period. vSphere 7 lost support on October 2, 2025. vSphere 8 follows on October 11, 2027. After those dates, no security patches exist. An unpatched hypervisor is an automatic failure under PCI DSS 4.0, HIPAA, and SOC 2....
Key Takeaways A server configuration that cost $17,300 in Q1 2025 now in Q2 2026 runs over $103,000: a 495% jump in 15 months. Every quarter of delay on a 20-host cluster refresh adds an estimated $500K to $600K in CapEx. The shortage is structural rather than cyclical, driven by AI infrastructure capex and a multi-year reallocation of...