VMware vCloud service evaluation demonstrates enterprise-class cloud, offers easy on-ramp to vCloud Services

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 15 — VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, today announced the vCloud Service Evaluation, an online service for customers to test-drive a cloud built on the VMware vCloud platform. The vCloud Service Evaluation will provide a quick and easy way for users to learn about the advantages of a vCloud through hands-on testing and experimentation. It also will provide a simple way to see VMware vCloud Director software in action and prepare customers to make the journey to the public cloud through the world's largest network of service providers.

"VMware and its vCloud service providers have created a broad ecosystem of cloud services to meet the needs of any business, and now we're going to give customers an easy way to see the power of a vCloud for themselves," said Mathew Lodge, vice president, cloud services, VMware. "With the VMware vCloud Service Evaluation, customers will have a quick, simple and low-cost way to evaluate a vCloud so they can understand the value of working with a vCloud service provider and be prepared to make an informed decision on which public cloud best suits them."

The vCloud Service Evaluation will be available at vcloud.vmware.com, an online destination where customers can find vCloud service providers and learn about their capabilities and coverage. vCloud Service Evaluation customers will be able to register with a credit card and receive access within minutes to their own vCloud Director-based cloud environment. They can then deploy pre-built operating system and application templates and use vCloud Connector to move workloads from their private cloud or VMware vSphere environment. Once they are finished evaluating, customers can use vCloud Connector to easily migrate to a vCloud service provider for production vCloud services.

VMware will also be enhancing the vcloud.vmware.com experience with new, interactive community capabilities to provide a platform for cloud consumers to ask questions and share experiences as well as to offer rich educational resources such as how-to guides to help with getting started in the public cloud. As the gateway to the world's largest network of certified compatible public cloud services, vcloud.vmware.com will include more than 145 vClouds in 28 countries.

VMware vCloud Service Provider Comments on the vCloud Service Evaluation

• "VMware's offer is great for us because customers will have the opportunity to see first-hand the differentiating benefits and value of our network-based cloud services," said John Potter, vice president, hosting, applications and cloud solutions, AT&T Business Solutions.
• "Giving customers an evaluation of vCloud-IaaS before deploying production workloads through a production provider is a positive step in making the journey to the cloud as easy as possible," said Clive Grayson, director of service strategy, Attenda. "Customers will be able to quickly realize the benefits and want to capitalize on them with best-in-class SLAs supporting them. Attenda seamlessly migrates from evaluation to production with a full suite of cloud service options to choose from."
• "We're excited that VMware will be offering such an easy way to test out the capabilities of vCloud-based virtual datacenters with the introduction of their trial program," said Pat O'Day, CTO, Bluelock. "We are confident that these evaluations will help even more people experience the same effectiveness and numerous efficiencies of the vCloud that our enterprise customers have come to enjoy and rely on for their own applications."
• "As a vCloud Powered enterprise partner, we are pleased to be part of VMware's vCloud Evaluation Service which will help to drive widespread awareness of the benefits of a cloud-based IT solution," said Mona Abutaleb, president, mindSHIFT Technologies. "Many businesses are caught between limited technical resources, shrinking budgets and increased demands on their IT staff to help grow the bottom line. This solution will help them realize the benefits of business agility and versatility that the cloud provides. VMware's vCloud Powered service, combined with mindSHIFT's technical expertise and commitment to outstanding customer satisfaction, enable us to provide a highly secure and scalable IT environment in which clients can quickly adapt to changing market demands and technology needs."
• "We're pleased to see VMware invest in educating customers on the power of vCloud to maximize an organization's available computing resources while providing additional resources on-demand, and to help shorten sales cycles for vCloud Powered Service Providers like NTT America," said Doug McMaster, vice president, data center services, NTT America. "VMware's vCloud 'Test-Drive' gives NTT America the opportunity to showcase our differentiation in providing access to a single virtualized global data center for scalable and seamless services, and drive awareness into a well-educated community."
• "The vCloud Service Evaluation will allow users to quickly experience the enterprise capabilities of the public cloud with VMware," said George Naspo, CEO, Virtacore. "We believe the education, content and community provided will help incubate customers until they are ready to graduate to a production environment offered by one of the vCloud Service Providers like Virtacore."
• "The vCloud Suite Service evaluation will allow a larger universe of customers who already trust VMware products to experience the power of enterprise-class cloud in a secure, 'frictionless' environment supported by a service-focused ecosystem," said Peter B. Bitz, president, Xtium, Inc. "This will accelerate the customers' journey to buy into the secure enterprise public cloud by practically educating the market and producing a more intelligent customer, bolstering our efforts with enterprise Cloud IQ."

Pricing and Availability
Customers can register for VMware vCloud Service Evaluation today, and beta invites will be sent out starting August 27, 2012. Prices start at $0.04 an hour for a Linux VM with 1GB of RAM. To register for an invite, please visit www.vmware.com/go/vcloudbeta.

The vCloud Service Evaluation is operated on behalf of VMware by a VMware vCloud Service Provider.

Related Links and Additional Information:

• To participate in the vCloud Service Evaluation Beta register at www.vmware.com/go/vcloudbeta.
• Service Providers can connect with users evaluating the vCloud Service Evaluation by clicking the 'Community' link at vcloud.vmware.com
• View tutorials, testimonials and case studies at Another VMware Cloud
• Read "Try Your Own vCloud in Minutes" blog post By Mathew Lodge
• Follow VMware vCloud on Twitter @vCloud

About VMware

VMware (NYSE: VMW) is the leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and based on their specific needs. With 2011 revenues of $3.77 billion, VMware has more than 350,000 customers and 50,000 partners. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.

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Source: VMware, Inc.