Amazon Elastic VMware Service: A Convenient Migration Path for VMware Workloads

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of Amazon Elastic VMware Service (Amazon EVS), allowing customers to run VMware workloads on AWS without re-platforming or re-factoring applications. With Amazon EVS, customers can use VMware Cloud Foundation on AWS, leveraging familiar tools and realizing security, reliability, and performance benefits. Amazon EVS offers customers a straightforward path to run their VMware workloads on AWS, maximizing their VMware investment while increasing agility and reducing costs.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of Amazon Elastic VMware Service (Amazon EVS), a new service that allows customers to run VMware workloads on AWS without the need to re-platform or re-factor applications. This development marks a significant advancement in AWS's VMware portfolio, offering customers greater flexibility, control, and choice in their cloud migration strategies.

Amazon EVS enables customers to run VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) directly within their Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC). This integration allows users to leverage the scalability, elasticity, and performance of AWS while maintaining their existing VCF software and skills. The service provides customers with the ability to self-manage their infrastructure or engage AWS Partners to manage and operate their VCF environment on AWS, ensuring a smooth transition.

One of the key benefits of Amazon EVS is its support for license portability, allowing customers to bring their VCF licenses to the service. This feature is particularly beneficial for organizations looking to maximize the value of their existing VMware investments. The service currently supports VCF version 5.2.1 and runs workloads on i4i.metal instances.

Amazon EVS is now generally available in six AWS Regions: US East (N. Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), Asia Pacific (Tokyo), Europe (Frankfurt), and Europe (Ireland). Customers can access the service through the AWS Console and can find more information about features and pricing on the Amazon EVS product page [1].

The announcement of Amazon EVS comes as part of AWS's ongoing commitment to providing a comprehensive and flexible cloud platform. The service is designed to meet the unique needs of customers, offering a straightforward path to run their VMware workloads on AWS. This can help organizations increase agility, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation by leveraging the broad range of AWS services.

Several prominent customers and partners have already begun using Amazon EVS to meet their VMware workload migration and modernization needs. For instance, Alcaldía de Cali, the municipal government of Santiago de Cali, Colombia, successfully migrated to AWS using Amazon EVS in just three weeks, while maintaining 75% of their workloads on VMware technology [2].

In conclusion, the general availability of Amazon EVS represents a significant milestone in AWS's VMware portfolio. By offering customers a straightforward path to run their VMware workloads on AWS, the service can help organizations maximize their VMware investment, increase agility, and reduce costs.

References:

[1] https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2025/08/aws-general-availability-amazon-elastic-evs
[2] https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20250804673695/aws-announces-general-availability-of-amazon-elastic-vmware-service