Since VMware announced its new service called vCloud Hybrid Service (or vCHS for all the acronyms fans) there has been several articles and videos from VMware itself to showcase and explain the new service.
In short, it’s (almost) the same vCloud platform VMware is offering since some years to its own partners to enable them in the creation of “Cloud” infrastructures (probably IaaS would be a better definition, since the kind of services vCloud offers right now) with anyway a huge difference: this platform is directly managed by VMware. I don’t know if it’s entirely operated by VMware itself, or with the help of some partner, but this is not so important at the end. What’s interesting, is right as other big players like Amazon (with AWS) or Microsoft (with Azure), now also VMware has decided to play this game directly.
vCHS has been perceived has a dangerous competitor from all the existing vCloud Service Providers. From a business model based on agreements and co-operation between vendor and partners, VMware has moved to a new business model where he IS the competitor of its own partners, by selling directly this kind of service, while before it was only in charge of software development and support. I can’t say how this friction will be managed in the future, but it’s for sure that instead of ignoring the new VMware service, is a good opportunity to first of all discover it, understand its strenghts and wekanesses, even more if you are one of those VMware partners. I’m sure VMware will output a huge amount of docs, whitepapers and informations while it will launch and then operate vCHS, and those informations will be valuable for every vCloud Service Provider.
While I’m writing, vCHS is not generally available, but it can only be accessed by invitation to an “early access program”. I’ve been recently invited to this program, and I was already able to login into the interface and test some quick tasks.
I already have many ideas and a quick list of tests I would like to do in the next few weeks. A sort of “quick journey to vCHS” by pretending to be a small company who wants to move to the cloud instead of renewing its hardware systems.
I do not have right now clear informations from VMware about what I can o I cannot tell, or if I can show the web interface (yes, there is a custom interface on top of the vCloud one, that is still accessible). Meanwhile, feel free to send me any question or suggstion about tests you would like me to do on vCHS.