VMware, AWS to launch joint hybrid cloud service

VMware and AWS have teamed up to provide an integrated hybrid offering that promises to give customers the full software-defined data center (SDDC) experience.

VMware Cloud on AWS will enable customers to run applications across VMware vSphere-based private, public, and hybrid cloud environments.

To be available in mid-2017, the service will be delivered, sold, and supported by VMware as an on-demand, elastically scalable service. VMware Cloud on AWS will allow VMware customers to use their existing VMware software and tools to leverage AWS’s global footprint and breadth of services, including storage, databases, analytics and more.

VMware Cloud on AWS is powered by VMware Cloud Foundation, a unified SDDC platform that integrates VMware vSphere, VMware Virtual SAN and NSX virtualization technologies, and will provide access to the full range of AWS services.

This new service will run on next-generation, elastic, bare metal AWS infrastructure.

Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware, said the new service will make it easier for customers to preserve their investment in existing applications and processes while taking advantage of the global footprint, advanced capabilities, and scale of the AWS public cloud.

“Our customers continue to ask us to make it easier for them to run their existing datacenter investments alongside AWS,” said Andy Jassy, CEO of AWS.

“Most enterprises are already virtualized using VMware, and now with VMware Cloud on AWS, for the first time, it will be easy for customers to operate a consistent and seamless hybrid IT environment using their existing VMware tools on AWS, and without having to purchase custom hardware, rewrite their applications, or modify their operating model.”