Topgolf says it saved more than $11.3 million by moving off VMware and onto VergeIO’s VergeOS. That is a substantial figure. It is also only one part of the story: replacing the virtualization platform meant rebuilding parts of Topgolf’s gaming infrastructure and finding new answers for software its teams already relied on.
The migration was not a simple matter of moving virtual machines from one vendor to another. Topgolf’s Toptracer system sends about 40 terabytes of network data per day at a typical 102-bay venue, according to Topgolf’s Forehand. VergeIO helped address latency and network-pathing issues, distributing traffic more effectively across the cluster’s nodes.
Automation and compatibility with Topgolf’s existing infrastructure-as-code tools also mattered. Forehand said VergeOS’s API-first design let the company keep using Terraform and Ansible, with VergeIO staff helping develop support for those tools early in the migration. That reduced the need to rework operational processes while the underlying platform changed. In enterprise IT, preserving the way teams automate infrastructure is less glamorous than a migration demo. It can also be the difference between a platform change and several new problems wearing matching shirts.
The larger lift came from projects Topgolf chose to coordinate with the server replacement. Its gaming system had run on VxRail servers. The new setup moved the gaming workload to edge game panels in each bay, requiring Topgolf to replace the panels, rewire columns, replace the server stack and adopt a new Kubernetes-based gaming architecture. The company also included other work intended to reduce technical debt. Those projects may support the overall business case, but they make the headline savings harder to interpret without a clear accounting period and breakdown of migration costs.
Software integrations created another set of trade-offs. Topgolf uses Rubrik for data protection and LogicMonitor to monitor infrastructure; Forehand said integrating the new platform with third-party tools posed challenges. VMware’s long history in virtualization has left it with a broad ecosystem of enterprise products. Newer alternatives do not automatically inherit that compatibility, however confident the sales presentation.
Topgolf used VergeOS snapshotting to fill part of the gap left by Rubrik, but Forehand said it did not immediately replace some Rubrik security features, including threat hunting and ransomware protection. Topgolf turned to Veeam to address those needs. VergeIO says it aims to build relevant capabilities into VergeOS and partner with vendors where appropriate. Its executive Crump described integration as friction that often appears after a migration, when customers want to keep tools they have already bought and trained staff to use.
Topgolf’s reported savings make the move notable, but the practical lesson is less tidy: a lower platform bill does not remove the work of replacing infrastructure or closing product gaps. VMware ran deep at Topgolf. Getting out took more than changing the invoice.
Sources: Glitch Please! and Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/10/topgolf-saved-over-11-3-million-after-leaving-vmware/ — Reporting and quotations attributed to Topgolf’s Forehand and VergeIO’s Crump.
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