By Rajeev Bhardwaj, Broadcom and Rohit Badlaney, IBM
IBM and VMware, now a part of Broadcom, understand that our mutual clients have unique and ever-changing business environments. Key decision makers, including C-suite and IT executives, are grappling with increased pressure to innovate and deploy applications quickly while balancing cost, security, and stringent regulatory requirements.
In recent months, we have expanded our partnership to meet these dynamic business needs by offering VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) on IBM Cloud. This enables us to help enterprises be future-ready. By deploying VCF subscriptions and add-ons to compatible endpoints – be it their own data center, a hosting provider, a cloud service provider or hyperscaler cloud environment – enterprises will be able to address their business needs while preparing to invest in transformative technologies like Generative AI.
For more than 20 years, IBM Cloud has been a preferred destination for VMware workloads, with the most VMware workloads under third-party provider management globally. As a Pinnacle Partner in the Broadcom Advantage Partner Program for VMware Cloud Service Providers (VCSPs), IBM offers multiple deployment options for VCF to meet the unique needs of supporting clients’ mission critical workloads of all sizes.
Today, we are excited to announce IBM Cloud now supports the new VCF license portability entitlement, which is designed to enable clients to more easily and seamlessly port their VMware entitlements to IBM Cloud. Available now, the IBM Cloud flexible IaaS platform can host clients’ VCF license entitlements for production workloads.
Key Benefits of VCF License Portability Entitlement on IBM Cloud
VCF is purpose-built to modernize infrastructure and accelerate innovation, to deliver integrated, enterprise-class compute, networking, storage, management, and security across environments. VCF clients can benefit from license portability which enables them to purchase subscriptions of the new VCF software and have mobility between their on-premises environment and IBM Cloud. Using the VCF license portability entitlement to migrate or extend private cloud environments to IBM Cloud gives clients:
Flexibility: With a wide array of hardware profile options, such as the latest Intel 4th Gen Xeon processors, clients can optimize resource utilization, and scale to adapt to evolving IT requirements. They can also operate in a hybrid cloud environment to help achieve the benefits of both private and public cloud.
Cost Savings: Clients will have the opportunity to leverage investments and potentially avoid unnecessary expenses associated with re-purchasing licenses for new infrastructure when adopting the new VCF subscriptions. Clients can also see the potential of a 201%1 return on investment (ROI) over 3 years with reduced downtime cost and increased efficiency after deploying to IBM Cloud based on a 2024 IBM-commissioned study by Forrester.
Simplified Management: IT teams can streamline operations, address administrative overhead, and maintain their existing licensing compliance requirements through a bring-your-own subscription solution – all while using the tools they know and understand.
Seamless Migration: By design, IBM leverages standard tools such as VMware HCX and vMotion for cloud migrations to allow organizations to extend their VCF workloads with scale and continuity
Unleashing Potential with IBM Cloud
With IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions, organizations can seamlessly integrate their VMware workloads with IBM Cloud infrastructure, leveraging the agility, scalability, and global reach of the IBM Cloud platform. IBM Cloud provides clients with:
Enterprise-grade infrastructure: IBM Cloud offers a robust and secure infrastructure designed to meet the stringent requirements of enterprise workloads. With IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions, organizations can harness the power of VCF license portability while benefiting from IBM’s enterprise-grade infrastructure and elastic global footprint.
Hybrid Cloud integration: IBM Cloud provides seamless, bi-directional integration between on-premises VMware environments and the IBM Cloud platform; enabling organizations to leverage the costs and resource benefits of hybrid cloud with a consistent operating model for their VMware workloads.
Advanced services and capabilities: In addition to infrastructure, IBM Cloud offers a comprehensive suite of services and capabilities to enhance the VMware experience. From AI-powered automation to advanced security features, IBM Cloud aims to empower organizations to leverage Cloud services along with their VMware workloads to drive innovation. Organizations can also leverage capabilities and offerings on IBM Cloud from VMware ecosystem partners, including Veeam, HyTrust, and Caveonix.
Getting Started
With IBM Cloud as a proven destination for VMware workloads, organizations can unleash the full potential of their VMware environments to drive business growth and innovation in the digital age. IBM offers multiple deployment options for VCF, including a private hosted cloud, as-a-Service managed offering, and now as a destination for license portability.
To learn more about how IBM and Broadcom can support your VCF needs today, we invite you to explore deployment options in IBM Cloud Marketplace and to contact your local IBM or Broadcom sales representative to learn more about IBM Cloud financial incentives and other ways to get started.
1-The Total Economic Impact of IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions, TEI Forrester Consulting Study commissioned by IBM, March 2024. https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/6M1QN5VO
of IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions, TEI Forrester Consulting Study commissioned by IBM, March 2024. https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/6M1QN5VO 
