VMware’s partnership with AWS highlights delicate balance as it navigates hybrid world

VMware Inc.’s evolving partnership with Amazon Web Services Inc. has at times resembled the move of a friend into the home of close acquaintance. First there are a few books, then some furniture and finally both are living wholly under the same roof. After officially unveiling VMware Cloud on AWS in 2017, obtainable only through VMware, the two companies announced in May that customers could buy the service directly through AWS and the cloud provider’s sizable partner network. In October, VMware moved closer to integrating its empire with the public cloud provider’s by making the Amazon Relational Database Service available for customers running VMware vSphere. These moves over the past two years are part of VMware’s larger strategy to pivot toward the cloud, but it clearly will take time.