By Jeff Carson, VP of Strategy and Solutions, ClearScale

Since the time Broadcom announced the acquisition of VMware, the market has started pushing back on different uncertainties such as licensing, changes in product availability, and centralization of the procurement channels. This has really caused a rethink in the level of dependence businesses have on VMware. More companies have been tending toward Amazon Web Services (AWS) native services with the assurance of a safe and predictable alternative. The following article gives insights into the reasons for that kind of move and why AWS native services will be the favored option.

“Gartner expects that by 2027, more than 70% of enterprises will use industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives, up from less than 15% in 2023.” 1

The Challenge

VMware has been an important player in the world of virtualized infrastructures, providing stable, competent solutions for data center and cloud environment management. However, Broadcom’s history with acquisitions mostly brings along large-scale restructuring and change that could disrupt product roadmaps and support structures.

Licensing Model Changes

Licensing models remain one of the most significant concerns for any business. The way that Broadcom licenses its products may increase the cost and complexity of licensing considerations for traditional VMware customers. Many organizations have invested significantly in the VMware ecosystem, and sudden changes in licensing terms can wreak havoc with their budget and operation planning. The unpredictability associated with chances of unexpected licensing costs has pushed many companies to look for alternatives with a more transparent and predictable pricing model.

Product Availability

As a company driven by profits, Broadcom is likely to sideline VMware products considered non-profitable. But this can be a challenge for any business that has majorly relied on specific VMware products. Businesses are, therefore, trying to look for alternatives. This particular product availability uncertainty has made companies think twice about continuing to rely on VMware.

Centralized Procurement

Procurement channels are being centralized under Broadcom, and businesses that have not historically been dealing directly with VMware for their needs may be faced with a more intricate and less responsive procurement process. This can delay problem-solving and issue resolution.

“It is deeply concerning that a supplier can increase costs by hundreds of percentage points and not provide pricing until six weeks before renewal. It feels deeply unethical, especially as there is no reasonable time to look at alternative solutions and to implement them without causing disruption to teaching and learning or being exposed to significant security risks. – Michael Eva, programme manager at London Grid for Learning 1

VMware to AWS Native Services is the Preferred Path Forward

One of the technologies that most companies are considering for risk mitigation as a result of the Broadcom acquisition of VMware is AWS native services. AWS is an all-inclusive array of cloud services specifically designed to offer scalability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. To this end, migrating to the AWS platform offers a stable and well-supported platform that attempts to address the uncertainty brought by the acquisition.

How AWS Addresses the Issues of Unpredictable Charge Models

With AWS, businesses can be sure of clear, fair, and predictable pricing models. The pay-as-you-go approach means that companies will only pay for the resources they are using and nothing more. That substantially reduces the risk of getting a massive and unexpected amount of licensing costs. AWS provides different pricing options like reserved instances and savings plans which help optimize costs even more.

Comprehensive Service Availability: AWS is the most varied and extensive service portfolio that is getting updates and expanding continuously. In contrast with the uncertainty that comes due to the availability related to VMware products at Broadcom, AWS customers can remain assured of having a reliable and continually updated catalog of services. As a result, businesses can have access to the latest and the very best in technology and innovation without the fear of being thrown out of business due to the discontinuation of services.

Simplification of the Procurement Process: AWS operates a user-friendly AWS Management Console and an infrastructure driven by APIs, hence making it easy for businesses to provision and manage resources without having to work through a difficult procurement channel. This has a massive reduction of operations and notably enhances agility as companies can quickly respond to changing needs and market circumstances.

“We get a chance to help them create something that they didn’t know was possible…. At AWS you can, because of the pace of innovation and the speed that we work, you’re making big business decisions every day that are helping delight our customers.” – Cheryl Cottino, Head of AWS Premium Support Business Development 1

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A Customer Story

Canoe Intelligence developed an AI-powered solution to automate manual processes for alternative investments. Its core product helps institutional investors, wealth managers, and others in finance optimize document workflows. Since its founding in 2013, Canoe has grown rapidly as a cloud-native SaaS business with cloud computing expertise.

However, in 2022, Canoe’s leadership decided to revisit its cloud architecture to ensure a strong foundation for future growth and innovation, considering potential component consolidation and best practices updates. With the internal tech team maxed out on customer support and daily tasks, they lacked the resources for an infrastructure migration to enhance AWS performance. Canoe consulted their AWS representative, who recommended ClearScale for their extensive project experience.

Instead of jumping to a technical fix, ClearScale first asked Canoe Intelligence about its goals. They then conducted a comprehensive audit of Canoe’s cloud infrastructure. Based on the audit, ClearScale designed new architecture and managed the migration. Throughout the process, ClearScale documented everything thoroughly, applied AWS best practices and educated Canoe’s team on maintaining modern cloud standards. ClearScale also designed a new AWS Landing Zone with AWS Control Tower. Despite Canoe’s cloud expertise, they trusted ClearScale to set up new development and staging environments and necessary tools, allowing a swift migration.

The Outcome

Since implementing the new architecture, Canoe Intelligence has reduced AWS costs by 25%. The internal DevOps team now has more capacity for high-value tasks and rapid feature deployment. Developers can easily maintain their own cloud infrastructure, and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) automation enables efficient scaling of new environments. This consistency allows DevOps and development engineers to focus on new client features. Additionally, Canoe can leverage AWS capabilities for expansion into the EU, addressing unique data regulations and enhancing cybersecurity. Moving forward, Canoe aims to serve customers in various EU countries and improve their cybersecurity posture.

“Our partnership with ClearScale has been extremely successful. Not only were we able to design, but we are also able to execute, go live, and realize all those benefits that we put on the table in front of this engagement – all while significantly reducing our cloud costs.” – Vishal Saksena Chief Technology Officer, Canoe Intelligence

Benefits and Considerations

The VMware to AWS migration brings about many benefits to the company in enhancing the overall IT infrastructure as well as operational efficiency.

Pros of AWS native services

  • Scalability: AWS native services services are highly scalable and allow businesses to easily scale their resources up and down based on demand. This elasticity is a great benefit to handle fluctuating workloads and seasonal spikes with optimal performance without fearing over-provision.
  • Enhanced Cost Management: Leverage better cost management due to AWS’s pay-as-you-go model and multiple built-in cost optimization tools. Insights on spending patterns are realized through AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Budgets, whereby companies can spot the opportunity to reduce cost. Besides, reserved instances and savings plans can reduce the cost of predictable workloads.
  • Enhanced Advanced Services: AWS will stay committed to innovation and keep on releasing new services that allow businesses to stay up in the marketplace. With migration to AWS native services, the companies have access to advanced services that underpin technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and the Internet of Things. These services help companies innovate and tap into new business opportunities.
  • Security and Compliance: AWS always takes care of security and compliance for its customers. This is evidenced by the fact that there are many services available to the customers related to security offered by AWS such as AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), AWS Key Management Service (KMS), and AWS Security Hub, through this, the organizations enable themselves to secure their data to be compliant with regulatory frameworks.
  • High Availability and Reliability: High availability and reliability of applications and data are ensured via the global infrastructure provided by AWS. With a number of Availability Zones and Regions, businesses get the freedom to deploy resources across different locations to build resiliency, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery. AWS’s SLAs provide guarantees of uptime and performance.
Curious about AWS cloud migrations? Explore detailed case studies about how ClearScale helps companies move to the cloud seamlessly.

Migration Considerations

  • Learning Curve: It is important to have some level of expertise and knowledge about AWS services to be able to manage products and services in AWS native services. Therefore, it is essential for organizations to invest in training and certifying their IT teams toward the acquisition of hands-on skills that will assist them in managing and optimizing the AWS environment appropriately. To build in-house capabilities, AWS also provides diverse training resources, including online courses and hands-on labs, which can also be accessed through the acquisition of different certifications.
  • Initial Migration Costs: Undoubtedly, in the long run, AWS native services prove to be an economical mechanism, but initially, some migration costs will incur. Often, the migration cost deals with data transfer fees, application refactoring, and proper cut-over planning to minimize downtime during the transition. Proper planning and budgeting can help mitigate these costs and ensure a smooth migration.
  • Data Safety and Privacy: Though AWS is a secure platform, the customer system must still ensure data safety and privacy, as well as ensure encryption, access control, and monitoring solutions that protect sensitive data. The Shared Responsibility Model underscores the point of division between AWS and the customer, and that division provides that an organization has the role to play in upholding a secure environment.
  • Having the Right Partner: It’s crucial to have a reliable partner for the migration process. Partners like ClearScale bring expertise and experience, ensuring that the migration is smooth and that best practices are followed. They can handle complex migrations, freeing up internal resources and ensuring the new architecture is robust and scalable. A knowledgeable partner can also provide training and support to the internal team, making the transition more manageable and setting the organization up for future success.

Next Steps in VMware to AWS Migration

By addressing these considerations and taking advantage of the benefits of AWS native services, organizations can effectively navigate the uncertainties introduced by the Broadcom acquisition of VMware. AWS is a reliable, scalable, and innovative platform for any business that wants to remain competitive and is looking to future-proof its IT infrastructure in a continually changing tech landscape.

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