Microsoft Azure VMware vs VMware Cloud Foundation comparison

Microsoft Azure VMware vs. VMware Cloud Foundation

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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

Microsoft Azure VMware

Ranking in Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

VMware Cloud Foundation

Ranking in Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure VMware is 2.9%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Cloud Foundation is 19.9%, down from 23.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

Featured Reviews

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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Narasimha Reddy Illuri

VMware Administrator at Infosys

There is progress in performance and stability, but further advancements are needed for end-user satisfaction

VMware Cloud Foundation's best features include its advanced capabilities, security purposes, and performance levels. The solution offers efficient licensing options. Previously, vSphere essential was available, but now it has moved to VMware Cloud Foundation 8.0. It includes advanced features such as lifecycle manager, patching level, and cluster level patching options. The solution now offers auto-deployment of VMs. Previously, I had to use the content library, right-click, and create VMs manually. With VMware Cloud Foundation, auto-deployment is possible by simply right-clicking and assigning a specific DHCP IP, enabling physical to vCenter level communication for automatic VM deployment. The workload portability feature in VMware Cloud Foundation provides good workload balance. For instance, in a cluster level with four to five ESXi hosts, each host has minimum resources allocated for CPU and memory, resulting in significantly reduced utilization at the VMware Cloud Foundation level.

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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

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

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

"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."

"The integration is very good."

"Technical support is helpful."

"We use VMware Cloud Foundation mainly for the virtualization part, and because it's a suite where everything is combined, we have vSphere and vCenter."

"VMware Cloud Foundation's most valuable features are password and certificate management. The SDDC manager tool is the front tool we are using to manage the entire VCF stack. In the SDDC manager, we can able to rotate, and update the passwords of all users. Anything in the VMware portfolio, we can manage from a single dashboard and we have various data centers. We have connected everything into one Federation. From one single place, we are managing our entire virtual interactions."

"The most valuable features in VMware Cloud Foundation are life cycle management and ease of use."

"The mission aspect of the solution is the most valuable feature."

"VMware Cloud Foundation makes it easy to set up new environments. You get hosts in a pool, which you can build into a new cluster."

"The tool's UI is great."

"The fact that it automates a lot of manual processes in a net new environment build is most valuable."

More VMware Cloud Foundation pros

Cons

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

"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 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."

"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."

"The price could be better. VMware Cloud Foundation is overpriced, but I think we get what we pay for. It would be better if it were cheaper because it would be easier to go to customers and get them to buy it. We'd get more projects, and that would be great."

"The interface is good, but there are compatibility issues or issues with the certificate for the VCenter."

"If one component fails to operate in a timely manner, the entire infrastructure can go down because everything is interconnected. This is the biggest issue."

"The maintenance cost has increased significantly, especially after Broadcom acquired VMware, with a shift from socket-based licensing to core-based licensing."

"I would like to be able to connect the APIs."

"The tool's price tag is high."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"Working on features that could include the capability to migrate workflows from non-VMware environments would be highly beneficial."

More VMware Cloud Foundation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"This solutuion can be expensive for small and medium-sized companies."

"There is an annual license required to use the solution."

"I rate the tool's pricing a seven out of ten."

"The price of VMware Cloud Foundation is a bit high. However, it comes with a lot of useful features and can handle a lot of operational complexity. Overall the price can be seen as being fair for what it offers."

"I give the price a three out of ten."

"It is quite expensive."

"The solution’s pricing could be improved and made more flexible."

"If our customer has the option to buy a server for $4,000 or $5,000, but VMware asks for two-person licensing $7,000 to $8,000, which is more than the hardware price. So sometimes, the customer cannot pay for it because it's too expensive."

More VMware Cloud Foundation pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure VMware?

The integration is very good.

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...

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 ...

What do you like most about VMware Cloud Foundation?

VMware Cloud Foundation provides us with the vSphere dashboard through which we can manage, monitor, schedule, and spin up your virtual machines. We can manage, monitor, and get reports of your inf...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Cloud Foundation?

I'm not involved in sales, so I have no specific information about pricing. However, I've heard it's not a cheap product, but the cost includes very good support.

What needs improvement with VMware Cloud Foundation?

VMware Cloud Foundation is complex, and there are always updates regarding security features, accessibility, and the user interface. Making changes isn't simple because there are a lot of tables to...

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Comparisons

Compared 49% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Compared 18% of the time

VMware Cloud on AWS vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Compared 18% of the time

Azure Stack vs Microsoft Azure VMware

Compared 15% of the time

More Microsoft Azure VMware Competitors

Azure Stack vs VMware Cloud Foundation

Compared 46% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) vs VMware Cloud Foundation

Compared 12% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs VMware Cloud Foundation

Compared 10% of the time

AWS Outposts vs VMware Cloud Foundation

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Azure vs VMware Cloud Foundation

Compared 7% of the time

More VMware Cloud Foundation Competitors

Product Reports

Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms

Download Microsoft Azure VMware product report

VMware Cloud Foundation

Download VMware Cloud Foundation product report

Overview

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

VMware Cloud Foundation makes it easy to deploy and run a hybrid cloud. VMware Cloud Foundation provides integrated cloud infrastructure (compute, storage, networking, and security) and cloud management services to run enterprise applications in both private and public environments.

VMware

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

ricoh, dell technologies, sky

Microsoft Azure VMware vs. VMware Cloud Foundation