VMware will establish four data centers in the U.S. in which it will host a cloud environment that’s highly compatible to the one that its customers use in the VMware-virtualized portion of their on-premises data centers.
The new facilities will be “a seamless extension” of customer facilities where they will be able to shift workloads at will with a few virtualization management console commands. VMware is building commands into its vCloud Director product and the modules in its vCloud Suite to automatically provision a designated virtual machine with networking that connects between the customer’s premises and a remote Hybrid Cloud Service data center.
VMware is not about to build a global chain of cloud data centers on the scale of a Facebook or Google. It’s more likely to lease space in existing third-party facilities, equip them with its own hardware and software, and operate them as public cloud facilities. CEO Pat Gelsinger said VMware, in making such a move, is not backing away from continued use of channel partners and existing data center partners, which include Bluelock, CSC and AT&T in the U.S. That list formerly included Dell as well, but Dell announced Monday it would no longer try to provide public cloud services.
In an interview after the announcement Tuesday of Hybrid Cloud Service, Gelsinger said that VMware was creating model VMware public clouds in the four data centers — locations unspecified — that its many regional service providers could emulate.