Morpheus Data was multi‑cloud orchestration and automation platform Hpe acquired so today this software acts as the automation and lifecycle management layer for Hpe.
With Morpheus integrated, HPE launched HPE Morpheus VM Essentials, a virtualization solution that manages virtual machines running on the KVM‑based HPE VME hypervisor.
Later, HPE acquired Juniper Networks, and this got them Mist AI (cloud‑managed networking),Apstra (intent‑based data‑center automation) SDN capabilities etc. This gave HPE the networking + SDN + AI operations layer they were missing.
The Simple Combined Picture
- Morpheus – automation + lifecycle
- VME (KVM) – virtualization
- Juniper Mist/Apstra – networking + SDN
- HPE GreenLake – cloud consumption model
Together, these acquisitions form HPE’s modern private cloud stack and a strong VMware alternative.
The Morpheus Software Family
HPE now ships Morpheus as two products:
1. HPE Morpheus VM Essentials
- Manages KVM (HPE HVM hypervisor)
- Manages VMware ESXi
- Ideal for SMBs, labs, edge, and mid‑market
- Licensed per socket, not per core
- Includes a 60‑day free trial (up to 6 sockets)
2. HPE Morpheus Enterprise
- Full cloud management suite
- Built for large enterprises and service providers
- Supports hybrid cloud, public cloud, containers, governance, automation, and more
Why Morpheus Matters
The key advantage and the reason customers are paying attention is the socket-based licensing model.
With modern CPUs packing 32, 48, or 64 cores per socket, per‑core licensing (like VMware’s new model) becomes extremely expensive, so this makes VM Essentials a strong option for customers wanting multi hypervisor flexibility.
HPE then bundled VM Essentials into a full private cloud offering so the VME can run on Non Hpe Hardware too which is known as HPE Private Cloud Business Edition
Core Components of Hpe Morpheus
- HVM Hypervisor – Same as VMware ESX
- HVM Cluster – Same as ESX Clusters
- VM Essentials Manager (VME Manager) – Same as our vCenter
- The primary shared storage is CEPH and GFS2 (for FC/iSCSI shared storage