Every company is in a different place when it comes to its digital transformation journey and use of the cloud. Microsoft is committed to providing solutions that enable organizations to make progress to the cloud on their own terms. In partnership with VMware, Microsoft has created Azure VMware Solution to empower organizations to efficiently and cost effectively move existing VMware apps to Azure.
Background
More than a decade ago, the business world faced a different challenge: The global financial meltdown and ensuing Great Recession. At that time, most organizations were looking for ways to reduce costs and create efficiencies to weather the crisis. Technology budgets were slashed, and opportunities to reduce CapEx were a top priority.
Fortunately, there was an emerging technology solution at that time: virtualization. VMware was a pioneering leader in this space and helped organizations streamline their datacenter operations. With VMware’s virtualization software, companies could run multiple apps virtually on a single server—versus running a single app, like SAP, on a single server.
Overnight, companies were able to consolidate their datacenter infrastructure, immediately reducing costs, while getting dramatic efficiencies out of their server investments; many organizations saved millions a year using this technology. More often than not, Microsoft technology was running in VMware’s virtualized environment, with Microsoft Windows Server as the operating system and, frequently, Microsoft SQL Server as the database.
The Race to The Cloud
You have likely read about how cloud adoption is continually on the rise. A recent IDG survey found that 92 percent of companies are using cloud in some way. Before, cloud adoption might have signaled an investment to fuel business growth. Now, more organizations are taking advantage of the benefits of the cloud to make it easier for employees to work remotely or to shift critical applications to the cloud to ensure business continuity.
We also know there continues to be much hype around some of the more advanced uses of the cloud. This could be AI or machine learning apps, or advanced cloud-native apps to support a new customer need or business model. The reality for most leaders and organizations is that there is still foundational work to be done before advanced cloud projects are undertaken.
Many companies still rely on apps and workloads that are running in datacenters. There are still plenty of legacy apps running in datacenters that are essential to business. In some cases, it may not be financially viable for a business to modernize these apps, even if it could benefit from the scale and flexibility of a cloud model.
Cloud Migration Considerations
Azure VMware Solution
A recent study by TECHAnalysis found approximately 70 percent of today’s applications are still being run in the corporate datacenter and private/hybrid clouds. Along with these apps, we know that many organizations continue to rely on VMware and Microsoft solutions in their datacenters. Companies have spent years investing in these technologies and the skillsets required to operate and manage them. Just “moving everything to the cloud” is not as simple as only pressing a button.
There needs to be an easier way. What if Microsoft and VMware could work together to provide a solution that helps organizations using our mutual software technologies simplify the move to the cloud? What if customers could continue to use Microsoft’s familiar tools even after an app is moved to the cloud? What if customers could move their existing apps, as-is, to the cloud without having to make any modifications?
The Azure VMware Solution was born to do just that. It provides the best of both worlds: the familiar VMware and Microsoft capabilities with the scalability, security, efficiencies, and potential that Microsoft Azure provides.
The goal was to create a consistent and comprehensive solution to moving your apps to the cloud without disruption to your business—and provide a future path to innovate and expand on the value of cloud investments.
Microsoft Azure: Infrastructure for Every Workload
Accelerate Your Cloud Journey
With the Azure VMware Solution, you can run your VMware estate—or a single app—on dedicated Azure infrastructure. You get to take advantage of your investments in VMware technologies, skills, and tools, while benefiting from the scale, performance, and innovation of Azure.
This solution enables you to accelerate your adoption of cloud without the added pain of having to reformat existing assets to work in the new cloud environment. For example, when migrating core IT infrastructure to the cloud, many organizations worry about whether their legacy apps, which ran in their prior on-premises VMware environment, will still work—or if they will need to be refactored to run in the public cloud. The Azure VMware Solution removes that challenge by making it possible to run your VMware technology stack on Azure as if it were on-premises—no app refactoring or extra skillsets needed.
The Azure VMware Solution also provides a powerful way to drive greater security across your existing apps, data, and IT environment.
Executives are more focused on security than ever, especially in light of employees working remotely and accessing critical apps outside of traditional domains. By moving workloads to the cloud, you gain a greater level of security through native Azure security services.
In addition, for companies that are already relying on Windows Server or Microsoft SQL Server, a move to Azure can enable a significant reduction in CapEx costs by taking advantage of savings available from Microsoft.
Next Steps
With the Azure VMware Solution, organizations get a seamless approach to receiving more value from existing technology investments. By migrating to Azure, you gain access to the platform’s comprehensive suite of services and tools, opening opportunities to modernize apps and infrastructure components in a streamlined way, as needed by the business.
As you continue to gain momentum in the cloud, you can also benefit from advanced capabilities, over time, to build new cloud-native apps, create Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, or explore new business models and opportunities with Azure.
To learn more about the Azure VMware Solution and how to take advantage of your workloads running in the Cloud – please contact the Microsoft Gold Certified experts at Oakwood today.
