My primary reason for using free ESXi has been career development. VMware was the biggest player at all of the biggest potential employers, so it made sense to be familiar with.

These days, they’re all looking to jump ship. Some are actively migrating, others won’t get there at all.

But all of them now value experience in alternatives at least as much, if not more than VMware.

I’m still using free ESXi, but the next time I rebuild (i.e. new hardware), it will not be ESXi.