What is the difference between VMware and AWS?

VMware and AWS answer different questions. VMware provides virtualization software that runs on hardware you or your provider owns, typically inside a private data center. AWS is a public cloud platform, launched by Amazon in 2006, that rents out virtualized compute, storage, and managed services over the internet. Broadcom acquired VMware in 2023 for roughly $61 billion, and the two companies now formally cooperate through VMware Cloud on AWS.

VMware vs AWS: side-by-side comparison

When VMware makes sense

VMware fits organizations that already run a virtualized data center and want to keep workloads on hardware they control. Banks, hospitals, and government agencies often keep VMware in place because compliance rules restrict where certain data can live. Teams standardized on vSphere also avoid re-architecting applications just to move them, since ESXi lets multiple virtual machines share one physical server without changing how those applications were built.

When AWS makes sense

AWS fits teams that need to add or remove capacity quickly, without buying servers ahead of demand. A retailer preparing for a traffic spike during a sale, or a startup that doesn't want to run its own data center, gains more from AWS's on-demand pricing and managed services like RDS or Lambda. AWS also has data centers across dozens of regions worldwide, which helps applications serve users close to where they are, something a single private data center cannot easily replicate.

Which one fits your situation

Choose VMware if your infrastructure is already virtualized on-prem and moving it would cost more than it saves. Choose AWS if you are building new applications, need to scale unpredictably, or want to avoid managing physical servers. Many enterprises use both: VMware Cloud on AWS lets a team run its existing vSphere environment on AWS hardware, migrating at its own pace instead of rewriting applications for a new platform.