Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware is causing significant upheaval among organizations that use VMware solutions, pushing them to explore alternatives to counteract changes in licensing policies and uncertainties about the continuity of products and services. In this context of uncertainty, VMware solutions on public clouds are gaining relevance as valid options to consider in certain scenarios. Microsoft, through Azure VMware Solution (AVS), offers a promising option. However, it is essential to recognize that similar alternatives are also offered by other cloud giants such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud. This article aims to analyze the unique advantages of AVS, demonstrating why it can be considered the most advantageous choice for organizations in this delicate transition period.
Use Cases for Azure VMware Solution
Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is not suitable for all types of customers but can be ideal in specific adoption scenarios that require particular features and benefits. The main scenarios in which AVS is chosen include:
- Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: AVS offers interesting features for those who intend to undertake a path towards disaster recovery and business continuity.
- Expansion, reduction, or consolidation of the datacenter: whether it’s about expanding existing capacity, reducing physical footprint, or consolidating infrastructures, AVS can facilitate these processes.
- Simple and fast migration of workloads to Azure: for companies seeking a rapid and seamless transition of their existing VMware workloads to the cloud, AVS offers an optimal solution without the need for complex new configurations.
- Application Modernization: although less common, application modernization becomes an accessible possibility once the AVS environment is operational. This scenario allows for agile leveraging of Azure’s extensive service ecosystem to innovate and improve existing applications. These scenarios demonstrate how AVS is particularly suited for large companies that require specific continuity, scalability, and modernization solutions within their VMware ecosystem.
Key Benefits of Azure VMware Solution
1. Azure Hybrid Benefit
One of the main benefits of choosing AVS is the Azure Hybrid Benefit. This program allows companies to use their existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance to save significantly on costs. This approach not only reduces expenses but also maximizes the investments already made in software licenses, providing a substantial economic advantage over other platforms that do not offer similar options.
2. Free Extended Security Updates (ESU)
Azure also stands out for its offering of free Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows Server and SQL Server 2012 and 2012 R2, extending protection up to three years beyond the product’s extended support end date. These updates, available at no additional cost, extend protection for three years beyond the planned end of extended support for these products. This opportunity is particularly relevant for companies that continue to use legacy applications, representing an exclusive advantage over competitors like AWS and Google. ESUs act as a temporary bridge to ensure security during the transition period towards more modern and supported platforms.
3. Integration with other Azure services
Another advantage of Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is its native integration with a wide variety of Azure services, including those related to artificial intelligence through Azure AI. This synergy allows companies to easily integrate advanced AI features into their applications, leveraging Azure’s infrastructure to innovate and enhance their service offerings.
4. Global availability
In terms of geographical availability, AVS has a significantly broader presence compared to competing solutions, with 30 public cloud regions available, including the North Italy region. This number is higher compared to competitors, with VMware Cloud on AWS available in 23 regions and Google Cloud VMware Engine in 19. This extensive network of available regions offers greater flexibility and facilitates better proximity to customers, effectively meeting the local needs of companies.
5. Price protection and savings
Azure promotes the adoption of Azure VMware Solution (AVS) with advantageous price protection policies and saving opportunities. Companies can take advantage of the Reserved Instances option to fix prices for periods of one, three, or five years, thus ensuring predictable costs in the long term. Furthermore, until December 31, 2024, there is a special offer that provides a 20% discount on the purchase of new annual Reserved Instances for the Azure VMware solution. It is important to note that the option for five-year Reserved Instances will only be available until the same date, offering an additional opportunity to plan long-term investments under economically favorable conditions.
Conclusion
Choosing Azure VMware Solution over the offerings of other cloud service providers is not just a matter of comparing technical features but also of evaluating economic benefits, security, integration, and global availability. For companies looking to optimize their VMware investment in the cloud, AVS represents a highly advantageous solution, leveraging the Azure ecosystem to provide superior service. With these strengths, Azure positions itself as a leader in the transition towards VMware-based cloud environments.
