Azure VMware Solution Updated with New Offering

• Azure VMware Solution provides VMware hosting on dedicated bare-metal servers in Azure data centers.
• A new version of Azure VMware Solution, now in preview, is entirely designed, built, and supported by Microsoft.
• The new version will integrate more effectively with Azure management processes and probably offers more investment from Microsoft long- term.
• The existing Azure VMware Solution by CloudSimple remains supported but will likely be superseded by the new offering in the future.

A new Microsoft-designed version of Azure VMware Solution (AVS) was announced for preview on May 4, 2020. AVS offers virtualization, storage, and networking for managed VMs using VMware software deployed on single-tenant infrastructure within Azure data centers. Unlike Microsoft’s Azure VMs service, which provides hosting of VMs on shared infrastructure and a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model, AVS involves a monthly (or yearly or greater) commitment to pay for hosting infrastructure, VMware licensing, and management of the deployed environment. For Window Server–based workloads, AVS could be less expensive than competing VMware hosting from other providers due to Microsoft licensing terms that favor Azure, although it will not be less expensive than Azure VMs.