At VMware Explore in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced a range of updates to Azure VMware Solution (AVS), enhancing its capabilities and reach for customers looking to leverage the power of Azure for their VMware workloads.
One significant development is the expansion of AVS availability to 33 Azure regions globally, including new additions like Switzerland North, Italy North, UAE North, and India Central. This wider geographic coverage ensures greater accessibility for organizations worldwide.
Furthermore, AVS has received approval for inclusion as a service within the DoD SRG Impact Level 4 Provisional Authorization (PA) in Azure Government, expanding its availability for government agencies and their specific security and compliance needs.
In terms of feature enhancements, AVS now boasts expanded support for VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), enabling NetApp and VMware by Broadcom customers to streamline their hybrid cloud environments by leveraging NetApp ONTAP® software for their storage needs.
Microsoft also introduced new capabilities to optimize AVS deployments, including support for Spot Eco by NetApp with AVS reserved instances. This allows customers to achieve significant cost savings by leveraging spot instances for their workloads.
To address the growing concerns around data protection, Microsoft has partnered with JetStream to deliver advanced Disaster Recovery (DR) and ransomware protection solutions. JetStream's solution employs Continuous Data Protection (CDP) to ensure data integrity and offers flexible storage options like Azure Blob Storage and Azure NetApp Files (ANF).
Lastly, Microsoft unveiled the VMware Rapid Migration Plan, a comprehensive program designed to simplify and accelerate migrations to AVS. This plan offers a range of benefits, including licensing incentives, cost optimization tools, and resources to ensure a smooth transition to the cloud.
These updates collectively demonstrate Microsoft's commitment to providing a robust, secure, and feature-rich platform for organizations looking to modernize their VMware environments with Azure.
