Novatech becomes UK's first Proxmox Gold Partner in shift

Novatech has become the first Proxmox Gold Partner in the UK, gaining the accreditation as organisations review virtualisation suppliers amid rising software renewal costs.

The status gives Novatech formal recognition within the Proxmox partner programme and strengthens its position in the market for open-source virtualisation support. It offers migration services, training and round-the-clock UK-based support for organisations considering Proxmox VE.

Interest in alternative virtualisation platforms has risen as three-year VMware contracts agreed before Broadcom's takeover come up for renewal. Businesses and public sector bodies are reassessing infrastructure choices as licensing bills increase.

Proxmox VE combines KVM virtualisation, LXC containers, storage and network management in a single web interface. Built on open standards, it includes clustering, high availability and backup features.

According to Novatech, the Gold Partner accreditation reflects its technical expertise and investment in the Proxmox ecosystem. It also marks another step in the Portsmouth-based company's shift from its hardware roots towards infrastructure engineering and support services.

That shift has developed over the past decade as Novatech expanded its work in enterprise infrastructure, artificial intelligence platforms, high-performance computing and secure IT environments. It said customers had approached it for support on open-source infrastructure projects requiring specialist knowledge.

David Furby, Chief Executive Officer of Novatech, said the debate around virtualisation spending has changed as renewal decisions move beyond procurement teams.

"The conversation around virtualisation has fundamentally changed," Furby said. "What we're seeing is organisations assuming they have little choice but to absorb significantly higher licensing costs because that's the platform they've always relied on. We believe that's the wrong approach.

"Every leadership team should be asking whether continuing with the status quo is genuinely in the best interests of the business. This isn't simply an IT procurement decision anymore. It's a strategic decision about controlling costs, reducing dependency on a single supplier and ensuring infrastructure investments continue to support growth over the long term.

"The organisations that take the time to review their options today are likely to emerge in a much stronger position tomorrow."

Novatech said its role is to support organisations through assessment, migration planning, implementation, training and managed support, rather than focus only on software resale. It argues this model reduces disruption for IT departments dealing with major platform changes.

Support model

Novatech's engineering team said many IT departments do not have the time or spare capacity to learn a new virtualisation platform while maintaining existing services. That has increased demand for external support during planning and migration work.

"We've built Novatech by helping ambitious organisations like Monzo and Octopus Energy solve technology challenges that don't have an off-the-shelf answer," Furby said. "Becoming the UK's first Proxmox Gold Partner is a natural extension of that philosophy. Organisations need trusted partners who can help them make confident, informed decisions about their future infrastructure, not simply sell them another software licence.

"Our role is to help businesses understand the options available, reduce the risk of change and ensure the decisions they make today continue to deliver value for years to come."

The accreditation also covers Novatech's training work around the Proxmox platform. It said accredited instruction and ongoing support are becoming more important as organisations look for ways to reduce dependence on a single supplier and retain greater control over their infrastructure.

Ross Collins, Head of Engineering at Novatech, said the operational challenge for customers is often as significant as the financial one.

"When it comes to infrastructure change, IT teams are already stretched. They don't have time to become experts in a new platform overnight, and they can't afford unexpected downtime.

"Our role is to remove that uncertainty. We help customers assess their environment, build a migration roadmap, train their engineers and provide ongoing UK-based support, ensuring they have someone to call long after the implementation is complete. Becoming a Gold Partner is recognition of the capability we've built and the experience we've gained helping customers solve some of their most complex infrastructure challenges," Collins said.