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AWS Joins Hybrid Cloud Fray in VMware Partnership
Virtualization giant VMware and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are partnering on a hybrid cloud service dubbed "VMware Cloud on AWS."
The new offering was unveiled at a press event in San Francisco on Thursday by AWS CEO Andy Jassy and VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger, who described it as an "industry-shaping announcement."
As the two companies described in a joint press release: "VMware Cloud on AWS is powered by VMware Cloud Foundation, a unified SDDC [software-defined datacenter] platform that integrates VMware vSphere, VMware Virtual SAN and NSX virtualization technologies, and will provide access to the full range of AWS services."
Under the terms of the partnership, VMware's SDDC software will run on the AWS public cloud, enabling integration between VMware's infrastructure solutions with AWS services such as storage and analytics. This will enable mutual customers "to run applications in a consistent hybrid environment using a common set of familiar software and tools," the companies said.
Though the service leverages AWS' platform, it is VMware's to sell and support. Organizations can purchase VMware Cloud on AWS through their existing VMware commercial agreements.
The deal effectively makes Amazon VMware's primary public cloud partner. In turn, VMware will be AWS' private cloud partner of choice. During Thursday's press event, Jassy indicated that VMware Cloud on AWS was just the start of a "rich cycle of innovation" between the two companies.
VMware Cloud on AWS is expected to become generally available in mid-2017. Currently, the solution is in private technical preview, with an invitation-only beta scheduled for early 2017. Those interested in participating in the beta program can register here.
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