AWS re:Invent and the launch of Amazon Elastic VMware Service (Amazon EVS)

Market State of the Union

Just over a year ago, Broadcom's acquisition of VMware closed for approximately $61 billion marking one of the largest transactions in the technology sector. For various reasons, the acquisition left many VMware customers looking for an alternative solution. Soon after the acquisition, analysts predicted that 20% of VMware customers would transition to an alternate technology stack in 2024.

AWS Introduces Dedicated VMware Service

At the AWS re:Invent 2024 conference, Amazon took advantage of this opportunity by launching the Amazon Elastic VMware Service (EVS) in public preview. This announcement comes at a critical moment for VMware customers re-evaluating their options following Broadcom's acquisition. Many organizations are reassessing their dependency on VMware due to concerns over pricing and long-term strategies, creating an opportunity for EVS to provide a seamless path to cloud-based continuity.

Amazon EVS enables these customers to migrate their VMware workloads seamlessly into AWS, leveraging its cloud-native capabilities and extensive ecosystem of over 200 services. This offering provides a viable alternative for VMware users looking for a flexible, scalable, and integrated solution.

While EVS enables running VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) on AWS, migrating workloads often involves disentangling application dependencies tied to on-premises environments. Customers using specialized VMware tools might need to adopt alternative AWS-native services or manage hybrid solutions, which adds complexity. Kyndryl is uniquely positioned to provide value-added services to create a powerful synergy to support Customer’s needs.

Amazon EVS Offering Highlights

The EVS preview launch by Amazon builds on the existing VMWare-AWS partnership and offers cost efficiencies and scalability during migrations, and for modernizing VMWare workloads. It positions AWS as a compelling choice for customers looking to integrate VMware workloads into a scalable and resilient cloud environment.

Amazon EVS simplifies deployments by providing a ready-to-use VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) environment on AWS. Customers can continue using the same VCF software and tools they use on-premises while benefiting from AWS’s scale, resilience, pricing, and performance advantages.

Added highlights of the Amazon EVS offering include Seamless VMware Integration, Hybrid Cloud Flexibility, Migration Simplification, Cost and Licensing Flexibility, Integration with AWS Ecosystem and a Managed Services Option.

Amazon EVS stands out by providing customers an option to manage their VMWare environments themselves, or by choosing a fully managed service through its AWS partners. This flexibility allows businesses to maintain control over their VMware architecture while optimizing it for their specific application needs.

With its industry leading experience and strategic partnership with AWS, Kyndryl is uniquely positioned to help customers take advantage of this opportunity. Kyndryl manages the largest VMware estate in the market and has been helping hundreds of customers with their migration and modernization goals.

Kyndryl Delivers Operational and Business Value to AWS Customers

For a successful cloud migration, organizations need a clear strategy, a dependable partner and a robust governance framework. Kyndryl’s Cloud Migration Services help customers assess their IT landscape, categorize workloads and choose the best target platforms for their needs. Kyndryl’s automated tools and proven methodologies help customers migrate workloads to the cloud or on-premises environments and establish a cost-efficient operating model and service management baseline.

Kyndryl also provides tailored services that add value to customers with complex environments. While some workloads can “push-button” migrate to Amazon EVS, many workloads, such as ERP or business-critical custom applications, require a tiered migration and hands-on experience with decoupling a complex deployment, architecting a cloud-native environment and ensuring business resiliency during migration. Kyndryl has helped many enterprise customers with similar initiatives, whether it’s assisting Compass Group in Spain with their ERP system, database and infrastructure modernization on AWS or Schneider Electric who employed Kyndryl for the migration of SAP workloads to AWS with no downtime or business disruption.

Kyndryl Delivered AWS Outcomes

(Source: Internal analysis of customers Kyndryl assisted in AWS migrations)

As a key AWS Premier Tier Services Partner, Kyndryl collaborates with our joint customers to accomplish their objectives, merging AWS' innovative cloud platform with Kyndryl's proficiency in managing critical systems within intricate environments.

Discover how Kyndryl Managed Cloud and Cloud Migration Services can help you reach your business and technology potential. Kyndryl Consult for AWS and Kyndryl’s Cloud Architecture Design portfolio align to the AWS Well-Architected Framework across the pillars of operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency and cost optimization.

Get a 30-minute, no cost strategy session with a Cloud Services expert today and visit our AWS alliance page to learn more about how Kyndryl leverages its more than 11,000 AWS certifications to help design, build and manage complex systems on AWS.

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