VMware vCloud Hybrid Service Launched and Set to Take on Rivals

The vCloud Hybrid Service has been unveiled by VMware, and seeks to compete with rival cloud service providers.

The infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud has been developed using the company's vSphere as a base, and has been designed so that it can broaden the reach of VMware's virtualization software into the public cloud. This means that both the virtualization and software-defined data center technologies from the company can be used for on- and off-premise environments.

The CEO at VMware, Pat Gelsinger, said: "This is a great milestone for VMware. Our vision is to radically simplify IT again and again and again."

The vCloud Hybrid Services seeks to bring line of business and traditional IT operations together, and it also means that customers will be able to distribute applications at greater speed in order to make the most of adaptable cloud services.

Unique to the vCloud Hybrid Service is its application neutrality, and customers can distribute applications into the cloud without the need for testing or alternations. The senior vice president and general manager of VMware's Hybrid Cloud Services Business Unit, Bill Fathers, stated: "This is a great platform for all your existing apps. vCloud Hybrid is also an ideal platform for developing new applications."

Furthermore, customers will be able to utilize virtual networking in order to securely extend existing Layer 2 or Layer 3 networks from their data center to the cloud. The vCloud Hybrid Service also provides automated replication and monitoring for mission-critical applications.

Channel partners will be delivering the vCloud Hybrid Service, and it is also able to work with a number of other VMware-based cloud services. Additionally, it can be sold in similar fashion to on-premise VMware software, and solution providers will be able to manage the billing relationship with customers as well as distribute extra cloud services to vCloud Hybrid deployments. Fathers added: "Overall, we see this as the most partner-friendly public cloud."

Partners of the company have welcomed the new vCloud Hybrid Service. The principal for Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Norbie Enterprises (a technology consulting firm), Keith Norbie, stated: "There is a ton of potential in the VMware Hybrid Cloud. It's all in their ability to execute. The vast majority of the channel doesn't want to build their own public cloud. What the channel wants to do is build service delivery and leverage cloud economies of scale with a common platform to plug into private and public clouds. Think of how many folks love VMware and are looking for an option that doesn't trap them into a closed cloud architecture model."

The director of marketing at VMware partner Somerset, New Jersey-based SHI International, Ed McNamara, stated that the vCloud Hybrid Service will be able to obtain existing applications and this is of particular advantage because there is no longer the need to write new code. McNamara said: "It's very much aligned with what our customers are telling us they're looking for. Businesses don't want to have to duplicate efforts to take advantage of the cloud."

Two subscription models will be available for the vCloud Hybrid Service, and these are the vCloud Hybrid Virtual Private Cloud, and the vCloud Hybrid Service Dedicated Cloud. The former is a multitenant compute resource model which will be sold on a monthly basis with pricing starting at 4.5 cents per hour for a 1GB virtual machine with one processor, and it also has dedicated allocations for customers. The second option offers physically isolated and reserved compute resources that can be made available at 13 cents per hour for a 1GB virtual machine with one processor, and will be sold on an annual term.

From June, an "early access" program will be made available for customers, and it will be made available generally in North America in the third quarter. It is expected that the vCloud Hybrid Service will be released in Asia and the EMEA region in 2014. (CY) Link