Azure VMware Solution (AVS): A Convenient Stepping Stone to the Public Cloud

Azure VMware Solution (AVS): A Convenient Stepping Stone to the Public Cloud

In today’s digital landscape, organizations are increasingly choosing to modernize their IT infrastructure and migrate to the cloud. However, many have heavily invested in VMware environments and the expertise to manage them, making them hesitant to transition to the public cloud.

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“That doesn’t have to be the case,” says Rik Delva, Partner Relationship Manager for Microsoft at Inetum. “With Azure VMware Solution, Microsoft provides a convenient migration path to the public cloud.”

Recent developments at VMware, driven by its acquisition by Broadcom, have prompted many loyal VMware customers and partners to explore alternative solutions. One such alternative is the public cloud. But how can you move your VMware environment to a platform like Microsoft Azure?

Traditional migration path

The traditional migration path involves moving all on-premises resources to equivalent cloud services. “This type of native migration often takes several months and can be quite disruptive,” explains Rik Delva. “Certain workloads are challenging to migrate, particularly when they depend on components without cloud-native alternatives.”

Inetum combines technological expertise and practical experience to guide clients through the entire migration process. “We always start with an assessment to conduct a detailed analysis of the IT environment and application landscape. Based on that, we create a concrete roadmap to the cloud,” Delva explains. “First, we set up the Azure Landing Zone to lay the foundation for the new IT environment, addressing networking, identity, security, monitoring, policies, backup, and more. The actual migration then follows, typically phased to accommodate priorities and interdependencies between components.”

Familiar technology

Does the complexity of the outlined migration path seem daunting? No need to worry—Microsoft’s Azure VMware Solution (AVS) offers a faster and simpler alternative. With AVS, vSphere workloads can be migrated “as is” to Azure VMware Solution. This is possible because AVS is a perfect replica of on-premises VMware technology, co-developed by Microsoft and VMware. It allows organizations to retain their VMware expertise and run applications without modification.

AVS is a first-party solution developed and fully supported by Microsoft. It operates in the same Azure datacenters as other Azure services, providing seamless connectivity to cloud-native features. Additionally, AVS benefits from Azure’s comprehensive capabilities in security (both physical and digital), energy efficiency, sustainability, compliance, and certifications.

“For organizations that cannot or do not want to fully transition to a cloud-native environment in the short term, AVS is an excellent solution,” says Delva. “The underlying technology remains the same—your team continues working with VMware, a platform they already know and trust. Expecting a team of VMware specialists to quickly reach the same expertise in a full-cloud Azure environment as they have in their own datacenter is unrealistic. AVS eliminates that learning curve.”

Cost-effective pricing model

The cost of AVS depends on the number and capacity of hyperconverged nodes. “You always need at least three nodes for a redundant environment, which makes AVS cost-effective starting from about 100 to 150 virtual machines,” says Delva. VMware licenses are included in the Azure pricing, and customers can lock in pricing for 1, 3, or 5 years through reservations.

This pricing model is especially attractive for organizations facing increased on-premises VMware licensing costs. By moving to Azure, they can maintain access to VMware at historic pricing levels and secure those rates for the desired period.

For those already using VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), existing licenses can be carried over to the AVS environment, reducing costs further. Additionally, Windows and SQL Server licenses can be reused on AVS through Azure Hybrid Benefit, and older versions of Windows Server and SQL Server qualify for three years of free extended security updates.

“AVS is ideal for organizations that want to eventually transition away from VMware but aren’t ready to make that leap just yet,” says Delva. “By locking in pricing for three years, they can modernize their VMware environment gradually.”

Migrate to modernize

Once organizations have transitioned to the public cloud via AVS, many seek to leverage the advantages of their new environment. This approach—‘Migrate to Modernize’—opens opportunities to combine existing workloads with over 200 native Azure services.

Modernization can include transitioning to Azure Virtual Desktop for VDI, replacing SQL Server in virtual machines with Azure SQL Database, or utilizing Azure’s out-of-the-box monitoring and security services. Additionally, innovative Azure solutions in areas such as artificial intelligence become accessible.

Scalable and hybrid capabilities

AVS supports dynamic resource allocation, scaling from a minimum of three to a maximum of 96 nodes per private cluster. “This flexibility is essential for adapting to changing requirements and optimizing resource utilization,” Delva notes. “It ensures an optimal balance between computing power and cost.”

AVS also supports hybrid environments, allowing some nodes to remain on-premises while others move to the public cloud. “This hybrid setup can be managed from a single management interface. By enabling Azure Arc, Azure’s security, governance, and management capabilities can also be extended to on-premises environments,” Delva adds.

Conclusion

Azure VMware Solution bridges the gap between traditional VMware environments and the public cloud. It allows organizations to strategically adopt the cloud while retaining the familiar VMware functionality and expertise they rely on. At the same time, they can benefit from public cloud advantages, including flexible resource management, elimination of physical infrastructure concerns, scalability, reliability, and access to innovative services.

Want to learn more?

Watch our webinar featuring Tim Verbist, Senior Technology Specialist at Microsoft for Cloud and Infrastructure.
If you’re ready to explore how Azure VMware Solution can transform your environment, contact us for a free Solution Assessment at info.belgium@inetum.com.

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