Dive Brief:
- VMware and Amazon Web Services are set to announce a new cloud partnership that will make it easier to run VMware software on AWS, according to a Fortune report.
- The announcement will reportedly be made next Thursday by Amazon Web Services Chief Executive Andy Jassy.
- The deal is said to be similar to VMware's partnership with IBM, which allows customers to move their workloads from their own data centers to IBM’s cloud without having to adapt or convert the data.
Dive Insight:
The move will help Amazon advance in the hybrid cloud market, a space where it has struggled. Understanding the benefit of teaming with others in the cloud, VMware has formed a slew of partnerships that allow it to run its software on its own servers and the infrastructure of other cloud providers.
Working with AWS, however, is a change of tune for VMware. In 2013, company execs had some harsh words for the cloud giant. VMware CEP Pat Gelsinger said, if "a workload goes to Amazon, you lose, and we have lost forever," according to a CRN report. Former VMware President and COO Carl Eschenbach also said he would find it hard to believe they couldn't collectively "beat a company that sells books."
But times have changed and the companies have since moved on from their rivalry. By working together, VMware and companies like IBM and AWS get access to each other’s market shares. Since the IBM partnership was initially announced in February, the company has gained more than 500 new clients running VMware software on IBM Cloud, including Marriott International.
