IQS was struggling with a legacy virtualization infrastructure that was both costly and restrictive. The institute migrated their hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) from VMware to Proxmox VE to resolve their core challenges and to establish a powerful, scalable foundation for future growth.
For more than a century, the prestigious Spanish educational institution IQS has been shaping future leaders in science, engineering, and management. As a founding member of Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, the institution pairs academic excellence with cutting-edge research. To keep driving innovation forward, IQS relies on a modern IT infrastructure that matches its ambitions.
Breaking free from costly lock-in
As the institution’s IT infrastructure evolved, they faced a critical challenge: a legacy VMware environment that was no longer serving their needs. The high licensing costs and technical constraints of their previous solution limited their ability to scale and innovate.
According to Sergi Arasa, IT Manager at IQS, the key issues were significant: "High licensing costs of our previous virtualization solution limited our ability to scale. We also felt the effects of vendor lock-in, which made us dependent on one provider without much flexibility."
The team needed a robust, reliable, and cost-effective virtualization platform that would free up budget and provide the flexibility to plan for future growth.
Smart migration, powerful results
IQS turned to JMG Virtual Consulting, an official Proxmox reseller partner, to explore modern, hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solutions. After a thorough review, Proxmox VE was selected as the ideal platform to replace their legacy infrastructure. The decision was driven by Proxmox VE’s reputation for performance, its cost efficiency, and the active, supportive community behind it.
The implementation was a well-structured and collaborative process. Together with JMG Virtual Consulting, the IQS team planned a step-by-step migration, starting with a pilot phase to ensure compatibility and a smooth transition.
The target infrastructure was a high-performance 3-node cluster built on Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 servers utilizing Proxmox VE to manage all compute and storage resources. All storage is integrated into a full mesh Ceph cluster configured for maximum resilience and performance.
Each of the three nodes has the following specifications:
Processors: 2 x Intel Xeon Silver 4516Y+ (48 cores total per node)
Memory: 256 GB RAM (DDR5, 5600 MT/s)
Ceph Storage: 8 x 3.84 TB U.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSDs
System Storage: 1 x M.2 480GB NVMe SSD for OS (RAID 1)
The IT team was particularly impressed by the intuitive management interface and the freedom and control Proxmox VE provided compared to VMware.
Cutting costs, boosting performance
The migration to Proxmox VE has yielded significant and immediate benefits for IQS. By transitioning from their previous virtualization solution, they achieved an immediate and substantial reduction in their former licensing costs, equivalent to 60% of their previous budget, freeing up substantial funds for other critical IT initiatives.
The 60% reduction in costs and the 30% faster provisioning have not only improved our efficiency but also freed up a significant budget for future innovation.Sergi Arasa, IT Manager
In addition to the financial gains, the IT infrastructure's performance saw a remarkable improvement. The team measured a 30% faster provisioning time for VMs, directly comparing deployment times on identical hardware. This dramatic increase in efficiency has a direct positive impact on their ability to support critical educational workloads. Furthermore, the switch to an open-source platform provided full vendor independence, ensuring IQS is no longer constrained by proprietary licensing cycles or vendor lock-in.
Sergi Arasa concludes: "This successful deployment showcases how a thoughtful migration to Proxmox VE can deliver tangible benefits in both performance and cost, proving it to be an excellent choice for complex educational and enterprise environments."
Sergi Arasa IT Manager
About IQS Founded in 1905, IQS is a highly regarded educational institution in Barcelona. It is a founding member of Ramon Llull University, a consortium of seven institutions committed to providing high-quality, comprehensive education. With over a hundred years of experience, IQS has established itself as a leader in both the academic and professional fields, offering specialized programs through its School of Engineering and School of Management. The institution is dedicated to fostering innovation, research, and technology transfer, making it a key player in the economic and scientific development of the region.
About Proxmox partner: JMG Virtual Consulting JMG Virtual Consulting is a specialized Spanish consulting firm that has been transforming business IT since 2009. Leveraging over a decade of experience, JMG delivers high-impact professional services with a core focus on virtualization and cloud computing. Their portfolio is enhanced by robust cybersecurity solutions designed to protect critical environments. Led by engineers who bring over 20 years of experience, JMG emphasizes a personal, trustworthy partnership, striving to deliver world-class IT services in Spain.
English 
German 
