Azure Stack vs Microsoft Azure VMware comparison

Azure Stack and Microsoft Azure VMware are both solutions in the Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms category. Azure Stack is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.8, while Microsoft Azure VMware is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.7. Azure Stack holds a 27.9% mindshare in HCCP, compared to Microsoft Azure VMware’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Azure Stack users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft Azure VMware users who would recommend it.

Azure Stack

Read 66 Azure Stack reviews

3,674 Views
2,617 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure VMware

Read 3 Microsoft Azure VMware reviews

208 Views
140 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Azure Stack

Microsoft Azure VMware

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

Azure Stack and Microsoft Azure VMware compete within the cloud solutions category. Azure Stack appears to have the upper hand in hybrid cloud environments with cost-effective options, whereas Microsoft Azure VMware is preferred by existing VMware users for its comprehensive cloud capabilities.

Features: Azure Stack provides seamless integration into hybrid cloud infrastructures, data locality for regulatory needs, and flexibility in hybrid solutions. Microsoft Azure VMware offers complete VMware environment support, excellent compatibility for enterprises using VMware, and strong VMware tool integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure VMware is known for its straightforward deployment and robust support for VMware tools, making the transition smoother for existing VMware users. Azure Stack requires more integration effort for hybrid solutions but supports complex hybrid strategies effectively.

Pricing and ROI: Azure Stack is cost-effective for those seeking hybrid solutions without extensive changes to existing systems, often providing a quicker ROI in such scenarios. Microsoft Azure VMware may have higher setup costs due to VMware licensing, but it offers strong ROI through enhanced cloud capabilities for established VMware environments.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Stack vs. Microsoft Azure VMware Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack vs. Microsoft Azure VMware

April 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Azure Stack

Ranking in Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) (2nd)

Microsoft Azure VMware

Ranking in Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

9th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms category, the mindshare of Azure Stack is 27.9%, down from 30.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure VMware is 2.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

Featured Reviews

Sarath-Boppudi

Data Strategist, Cloud Solutions Architect at Strategic Architects

Seamless integration and impressive scaling capabilities for efficient architectural solutions

The scalability of Azure Stack is commendable. It can scale up within two to three minutes upon request. SQL Server is a good use case for data warehouses. It is scalable and can be set to serverless to reduce costs when not in use. Power BI Fabric offers a useful way to stack data in data warehousing solutions. Azure Stack provides federated authentication which is seamless with on-premise infrastructure, offering good performance and throughput. The integration with Microsoft's environment is also efficient.

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BachirAbderrahmani

Cloud Architect at CGI

Offers a lot of flexibility during the migration to users

I cannot tell you exactly what will be added except one thing. The tool already did a great job integrating the native Azure SaaS and PaaS solutions. I think the tool can do better integration. We need to have a dedicated network connectivity with a dedicated ExpressRoute circuit. For example, in our experience with this client, we ended up with two circuits for ExpressRoute. If the tool can do better and flawless integration with the native Azure services, it will be a good enhancement. What we have right now is not bad, but it is an area where the tool can do a little bit of enhancements.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The stability is good. We haven't had any issues with the viability or scalability. It's been good so far."

"Azure Stack is stable."

"The best thing about this product is that it is user-friendly and intuitive."

"The beauty of Azure is that most of the features are easily accessible. It is user-friendly. Almost all resources in Azure are very easily accessible. For example, you can access a virtual machine, and you can scale it up. You can go ahead with different infrastructure-as-a-service in Azure for the platform or for the cloud. Different levels of development could be done using it."

"The scalability of the solution is good. We have hundreds of users internally and thousands of users externally. We do plan to increase usage shortly."

"The solution's most valuable features are security, configurability, and recoverability."

"Azure Stack is like a hybrid model with a CI/CD pipeline. The IaaS and PaaS model works well with a hybrid type of connectivity."

"Azure Stack provides us with computational power. We also get an option to have it with Azure Cloud, which is beneficial. We don't need to buy any other extra servers or any virtual machines with high-end graphics."

More Azure Stack pros

"For new users, if you have a scalable environment where a VMware data center makes sense for your business, I definitely recommend AVS."

"The integration is very good."

"The capabilities are like a lift-and-shift operation for moving existing VMware environments to the cloud. The time for migration onto the cloud has substantially reduced."

"Regarding stability, it is like a five-star solution."

Cons

"For some years, Azure has been working on Synapse. It's their big footprint on the analytics stack. It's a little bit heavy right now in the sense that there are too many components and it's too complex."

"As opposed to AWS, Azure is a costly solution. It's on par with AWS more than anything else."

"The solution's price is high, and the implementation process is difficult. I would like to see a lower price and simpler implementation for Azure Stack."

"I think the monitoring tools needs some improvement."

"Normally, in many countries, especially in the Middle East, there are government regulations for information technology itself. If government organizations want to host the cloud, they cannot take it from Microsoft directly; they must go through the local internet service providers, ISPs, or cloud solution providers locally."

"I would like to see better support for containers."

"Azure Stack is relatively new and lacks the features compared to public Azure."

"Our only issue with Azure Stack so far is that the networking is very closed. You need to have the extended LAN to connect the internal LAN to the Azure Stack. Any connection we have needs site-to-site VPN connectivity instead of an internal connection, so Azure Stack has room for improvement in the networking area."

More Azure Stack cons

"Azure VMware needs to cater to smaller enterprises, as it is currently meant for larger entities."

"The only issue is that a small challenge was found regarding the network...to have extended, smooth VLANs and everything else was a little bit complicated."

"Azure VMware needs to cater to smaller enterprises, as it is currently meant for larger entities. One improvement could be more support for mid-sized or scalable environments."

"Well, sometimes they release product after product, so it's it's kind of hard to keep an overview of all the different aspects of of the solutions."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are satisfied with the pricing."

"Azure is reasonably priced compared to Google Cloud, AWS, or some other cloud giants."

"Price-wise, AWS might be relatively cheaper compared to Azure, but the deployment on Azure is much easier."

"Azure Stack is a medium-priced product, so it is not overpriced, but the prices may be higher for certain services."

"The cost of Azure Stack is much cheaper than VCE."

"Azure Stack is not a very costly tool. The pricing is according to the services we buy. When compared with AWS, Azure is a bit more costlier."

"It is not a cost-friendly solution."

"When comparing Azure to Amazon and Google, it appears that Azure offers the most cost-effective solution."

More Azure Stack pricing and cost advice

"To be honest, the tool comes at a high price."

"The solution is very competitive."

"The mandatory requirements, such as a minimum of three nodes, make it expensive. The customers need to sign up for approximately $20,000 per month."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Azure Stack?

For hybrid cloud operations, the seamless transition it enables is key. Most enterprises have a lot of workloads on-premises, and they want a smooth way to move into the cloud. Some things are on...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Stack?

Azure Stack pricing is generally reasonable, though it has been getting expensive recently due to inflation and changes in Microsoft’s charging strategy to US dollar-based billing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Stack?

More integration with AI capabilities would be beneficial, along with improvements in monitoring and cost management. Reducing costs slightly would also be desirable.

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure VMware?

The integration is very good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure VMware?

The pricing is high, rated around nine to 9.5 out of ten. The mandatory requirements, such as a minimum of three nodes, make it expensive. The customers need to sign up for approximately $20,000 pe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VMware?

Azure VMware needs to cater to smaller enterprises, as it is currently meant for larger entities. One improvement could be more support for mid-sized or scalable environments. The licensing policy ...

See all answers

Comparisons

VMware Cloud Foundation vs Azure Stack

Compared 42% of the time

AWS Outposts vs Azure Stack

Compared 34% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) vs Azure Stack

Compared 15% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Azure Stack

Compared 3% of the time

VMware Cloud on AWS vs Azure Stack

Compared 2% of the time

More Azure Stack Competitors

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Compared 80% of the time

VMware Cloud on AWS vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Compared 20% of the time

More Microsoft Azure VMware Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack

May 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

April 2025

Download Microsoft Azure VMware product report

Overview

Information not available

Microsoft

Microsoft Azure VMware provides a seamless integration of VMware environments into Azure, offering enterprises an efficient way to extend workloads and optimize their IT infrastructure. This facilitates a native VMware experience within Azure, ideal for scaling and modernizing services.

Azure VMware enables businesses to leverage existing investments in VMware tools and skills while taking advantage of Azure's scalability and global reach. Users find it valuable for disaster recovery, datacenter extension, and application modernization. It supports consistent operations and reduces complexity by simplifying operations and cutting IT costs. Additionally, users appreciate its ability to integrate with other Azure services for increased functionality and performance.

What are the key features of Microsoft Azure VMware?

Hybrid Platform: Integrates on-premise VMware tools with Azure for consistent management.
Scalability: Easily scale VMware-based applications leveraging Azure's infrastructure.
Disaster Recovery: Offers robust solutions for backup and recovery scenarios, ensuring business continuity.
Flexibility: Supports various VMware workloads, optimizing performance and costs.

What benefits should you evaluate in reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Potential for reduced IT expenses by utilizing cloud resources for scaling.
Time Savings: Streamlines operations time with easy management and deployment.
Seamless Integration: Preserves existing investment in VMware tools and skills.
Enhanced Security: Utilizes Azure's comprehensive security features to protect workloads.

In industries like healthcare and finance, Microsoft Azure VMware is implemented to enhance datacenter capacities and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Its ability to integrate with existing resources allows companies to transition workloads without significant disruption, providing a flexible and scalable solution that supports innovation while maintaining operational continuity.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Weblink, Fathym, Sage, CFD Support Ltd, The UberCloud Inc.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Azure Stack vs. Microsoft Azure VMware

April 2025

Free Report: Azure Stack vs. Microsoft Azure VMware

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