Updated: June 5, 2024 (June 5, 2022)

Azure VMware Solution Offers Licensing Benefits

Wes Miller analyzes and writes about Microsoft’s security, identity management, and systems management technologies. Before joining Directions on Microsoft, Wes... more

Many customers want to run Microsoft software in a cloud-hosted deployment of VMware infrastructure running on dedicated hardware.
Microsoft’s hosted offering, Azure VMware Solution, offers several benefits over other hosted VMware infrastructure offerings, as well as Microsoft’s own dedicated VM hosting service.
Organizations running Microsoft software on VMware infrastructure should compare licensing rules before choosing a cloud provider to host VMware infrastructure.

Most hyperscale cloud hosting providers now offer hosted deployments of VMware infrastructure. For example, Azure VMware Solution offers a cloud-based platform for new or existing VMware VMs, including those running Microsoft software, within Microsoft’s Azure cloud. Understanding your own Microsoft licensing estate can minimize licensing cost and risk of these solutions, particularly given recent Microsoft licensing rule changes, and differing sets of rules, that depend on the cloud hosting provider. The most favorable rules for running Microsoft software on a hosted VMware infrastructure are now exclusive to Azure.

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