Over the past three years, Microsoft and VMware have worked together closely to deliver our Azure VMware Solution (AVS) to customers in more than 30 Azure regions around the globe. It is a fully managed Microsoft service, based on VMware Cloud Foundation technologies, running on VMware validated Azure infrastructure. Azure VMware Solution enables customers to migrate or extend VMware workloads to the cloud seamlessly. Organizations can maintain existing VMware skills and operational processes and leverage Azure cloud services to modernize their applications, including innovation with AI.

Supporting customers on their cloud journey

Customers like Hastings Direct have migrated to Azure VMware Solution to serve their four million customers. They boosted application performance by 1.6 times with Azure, adjusting customer quotes four to five times faster and gaining a market edge. According to Hastings, “We wouldn’t have been able to move our business without Azure VMware Solution. I don’t think enough companies realize that they can use it to take a legacy environment and bring it directly to the cloud.” Now they are primed for further innovation using cloud services from the Azure AI portfolio.

I am excited to continue this partnership with VMware by Broadcom. Our shared commitment to delivering Azure VMware Solution to customers is as strong as ever. We are actively working together to continue supporting our common customers, regardless of where they are on their cloud journey. Over the past year, we have delivered an abundance of Azure VMware Solution innovations, and we will continue to deliver innovation and enhancements. Some examples in the coming months include availability in new regions (Italy North and United Arab Emirates) and new features like Azure Elastic Storage Area Network (SAN) for Azure VMware Solution.

Azure continues to be the best cloud for customers to run their Windows Server and SQL Server workloads and that includes Azure VMware Solution. VMware customers facing end-of-support for Windows Server 2012 or SQL Server 2012 get extended security updates for free when they migrate their VMware workload to Azure VMware Solution. Additionally, customers can enjoy significant savings when they apply Azure Hybrid Benefit to their existing Windows Server and SQL Server licenses running on Azure VMware Solution. As always, customers have the option to use multi-year Reserved Instances to secure their Azure VMware Solution pricing with Microsoft.

Learn more

If you are ready to start your own cloud journey with Azure VMware Solution, contact your Microsoft sales team and check out these valuable resources:

• The Ultimate Guide to VMware Migration and Modernization on Azure
• Azure VMware Solution