VMware, SoftBank Telecom Corp. and SoftBank Commerce & Service Corp. (SoftBank C&S) today announced the expansion of VMware vCloud Hybrid Service in Japan – the first Asian market and third in the world to deploy this Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) public cloud solution.
vCloud Hybrid Service enables an organisation to extend its private on-premise IT infrastructure seamlessly to the public cloud. The resulting hybrid cloud is compatible witha customer’s existing IT assets and allows them to build new cloud-native applications, delivering agility and efficiency to the business in a secure, reliable and compliant manner.
IT departments can view, manage and operate this “best of both worlds” cloud environment in a totally unified way using the VMware vSphere platform they already know and trust.
vCloud Hybrid Service is launching a beta program today in Japan and will become generally available in the fourth quarter of 2014. Initially, the Japan service will offer compute, storage, networking, data protection and Disaster Recovery. More capabilities will follow over time.
“VMware vCloud Hybrid Service is growing quickly in the US and UK, and the capabilities we are talking about today address Japan’s data locality, privacy, security and sovereignty challenges. Customers are looking for a way to seamlessly extend their applications to the cloud and we are excited to extend these capabilities to the Japan market. More such deployments will follow, each tailored to suit the needs of key markets in Asia Pacific,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware.
vCloud Hybrid Service, delivered by VMware, was launched in September 2013 and is available in five sites in the US and two in the UK, with plans for further expansion in the EMEA and APJ regions, as well as a US Federal Government offering.
One “world” is the compelling economics and agility of a public cloud, while the other is a customer’s existing data center, applications, management tools, networking and security. By using the same roles, responsibilities and knowledge in today’s private cloud, organisations can transition to the public cloud as a natural evolution.
Joint Venture with SoftBank Group
VMware vCloud Hybrid Service will be provided under a joint-venture arrangement with Japanese telecommunications operator SoftBank Telecom Corp and SoftBank Commerce & Service Corp. (SoftBank C&S). SoftBank Telecom Corp has been a VMware vCloud Datacenter Services Service Provider Partner, providing hybrid solutions to Japanese customers in Japan since 2011.
VMware will build, manage, operate and support the vCloud Hybrid Service and provide the primary sales route to market through VMware’s ecosystem of partners.
SoftBank Telecom’s contribution will include data centre facilities, the physical network and a dedicated sales force. SoftBank C&S contribution will include over 7,000 resellers in Japan and a strong sales force, leveraging their accumulated know-how.
SoftBank Commerce & Service Corp is a VMware authorized distributor and aggregator which strengthens and enhances the virtualisation business with VMware partners in Japan.
VMware’s Hybrid Cloud Provides Opportunities for Partners
With vCloud Hybrid Service, channel partners play a key role of integrating private and public clouds and delivering hybrid solutions to customers. The service was designed specifically with the channel community in mind. VMware distributors, solution providers and OEM partners can now sell vCloud Hybrid Service the same way as any other VMware product.
In addition, VMware already has a network of close to 200 vCloud Service provider partners in Japan that operate clouds based on VMware’s software. vCloud Hybrid Service is the next evolution of this program, but is distinct from these 200 partners because it is fully owned, operated and supported by VMware.
By operating vCHS, VMware will be able to drive more rapid innovation and service delivery to market, which VMware will then make available in the form of technology and IP to VMware’s growing ecosystem of service providers. VMware expect partners to build services and application based on vCloud Hybrid Service.
Yasuo Miki, President – VMware Japan, said, “We are very pleased that Japan has become the third market in the world to announce a vCloud Hybrid Service. VMware is offering a highly-differentiated hybrid cloud service. Working closely with SoftBank and other partners we see real opportunity to accelerate the use of our technology in the market. The launch of vCloud Hybrid Service provides additional opportunities for our network of over 200 vCloud Service Provider partners to further empower and strengthen their offerings in this market.”
Ken Miyauchi, Director & COO- SoftBank Telecom Corp. and Chairman – SoftBank Commerce & Service Corp. said, “We are very pleased that Japan is the first Asia-Pacific country to launch vCloud Hybrid Service and that we are developing the market together with VMware based on our strong partnership. The SoftBank Group will provide vCloud Hybrid Service to customers in Japan through its direct sales and reseller partners for VMware products.”
