VMware: Now you can send your VMs to Amazon's cloud (and then back to us)

VMware rolls out new features to manage heterogeneous clouds

In what some analysts are calling a dramatic shift in strategy, VMware today rolled out new features to its vCloud Suite management software that allow customers to migrate workloads to non-VMware cloud environments, including on Amazon Web Services.

In July, VMware surprised many cloud-watchers when it purchased DynamicOps, a company that allows users to easily manage workloads across multiple hypervisors and cloud platforms. VMware said at the time it is committed to a enabling its users to access multiple services from different vendors. Today, the company followed through on its promise.

"They're making some pretty strong changes," says Gartner analyst Ronni Colville. "DynamicOps was a major shift in VMware not just saying it will work outside its comfort zone, but really doing it."

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However big the move is for VMware and its cloud strategy, or for customers and their operations, Gartner's Colville says it could only be the first step. "DynamicOps comes with a whole lot of integrations," and watching how those are not just initially supported, but further developed will be the real key. In a way VMware, she says, is looking to commoditize a hardware layer and is looking to make its margins through the services and software management tools to keep customers coming back for more.

Network World staff writer Brandon Butler covers cloud computing and social collaboration. He can be reached at BButler@nww.com and found on Twitter at @BButlerNWW.

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