VMware vSphere Vs. AWS Outposts Vs. Azure Stack: Private Cloud Face-Off

Here’s where SMBs and enterprises are placing their workloads on private cloud platforms from leaders AWS, Microsoft and VMware.

There are three private cloud platforms standing out from the pack in 2023: VMware vSphere, AWS Outposts and the Azure Stack.

These private cloud technologies from market leaders Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and VMware are currently being used by organizations for their hybrid cloud environment, according to Flexera’s 2023 State of the Cloud Report that sheds light into what 750 businesses are currently running their workloads on—from SMBs to enterprises.

“Most organizations are taking a multi-cloud, hybrid approach in which private cloud plays an essential role,” said Flexera in its report, which showed that 72 percent of respondents are currently using a hybrid cloud environment with a mix of both private and public cloud technologies.

AWS, Microsoft And VMware

The new Flexera 2023 State of the Cloud report surveyed 750 IT professionals and executive leaders worldwide, representing a broad cross-section of industries and context areas. The majority of respondents are from the U.S. and Europe, while two-third of all respondents hail from organizations with more than 2,000 employees.

The results found most respondents are currently using Microsoft’s Azure Stack, AWS’ Outposts and VMware’s vSphere with vCenter for their private cloud workloads.

VMware vSphere is the company’s longtime virtualization platform that includes its vCenter advanced server management software for controlling vSphere environments.

AWS Outposts provides AWS infrastructure and services to any data center or edge location, enabling customers to run native AWS services on-premises.

Microsoft Azure Stack is an integrated platform of hardware and software that allows customers to build, deploy and run hybrid and edge computing applications across their entire IT ecosystems.

CRN breaks down the results from Flexera’s report around how many respondents are currently using or experimenting with AWS Outposts, Azure Stack and VMware vSphere/vCenter.

Private Cloud Tech Used For All Organizations

Microsoft Azure Stack: 41%

AWS Outposts: 31%

VMware vSphere/vCenter: 28%

Microsoft Azure Stack was the most-used private cloud technology, with 41 precent of all respondents currently running workloads on the Azure Stack, up from 37 percent year over year.

AWS Outposts came in second with 31 percent of respondents currently running workloads on it, followed by VMware vSphere/vCenter at 28 percent. Compared with 2022, AWS Outposts switches places with VMware vSphere/vCenter for second place this year.

Other top private cloud technologies currently being used by organizations include Microsoft System Center with 27 percent of respondents currently running workloads on it, followed by VMware vCloud Director at 18 percent, then Google Anthos at 17 percent.

In terms of how many organizations are experimenting with these top private cloud solutions, approximately 24 percent of respondents are experimenting with AWS Outposts, followed by 21 percent experimenting on both Google Anthos and Microsoft System Center, then 19 percent using Microsoft Azure Stack.

Enterprise Usage Of Private Cloud Tech

Microsoft Azure Stack: 46%

AWS Outposts: 35%

VMware vSphere/vCenter: 30%

Microsoft Azure Stack continues to lead the way among enterprises. Approximately 46 percent of enterprise respondents are currently running workloads on Azure Stack, up from 38 percent in 2022.

AWS Outposts ranks second with 35 percent of enterprise respondents leveraging Outposts, followed by VMware vSphere/vCenter and Microsoft System Center at 30 percent each. Flexera said these ranking results are similar to its 2022 report.

In terms of which private cloud solutions enterprises are experimenting with, approximately 26 percent are experimenting with AWS Outposts, followed by both Google Anthos and Microsoft System Center at 24 percent, then Azure Stack at 21 percent.

SMB Usage Of Private Cloud Tech

VMware vSphere/vCenter: 20%

Microsoft Azure Stack: 20%

AWS Outposts: 13%

Both Microsoft’s Azure Stack and System Center remain in or near the lead for SMBs that leverage private cloud technologies.

Azure Stack and VMware vSphere/vCenter tied for first place with 20 percent of SMB respondents using either the Microsoft or VMware private cloud offerings. Flexera said VMware vSphere/vCenter made slight gains in 2023 compared with 2022 to move into a first-place tie.

Around 13 percent of SMB respondents are currently running workloads on AWS Outposts, followed by 9 percent using some sort of bare-metal cloud technology.

In terms of private cloud solutions SMB are experimenting with, approximately 15 percent are experimenting with AWS Outposts, followed by both Azure Stack and OpenStack at 10 percent, then Microsoft System Center at 9 percent.

Private Cloud Vs. Public Cloud Usage

Use Private Cloud: 76%

Use Public Cloud: 96%

Use Hybrid Cloud (Both Public and Private): 72%

At 72 percent, the vast majority of respondents have a hybrid cloud environment that leverages a mix of both private and public clouds.

“Most organizations are taking a multi-cloud, hybrid approach in which private cloud plays an essential role,” said Flexera.

However, hybrid cloud usage decreased from 80 percent in 2022 to 72 percent in 2023. Flexera said the decrease is a result of an increase in public-cloud-only usage. In fact, respondents using only the public cloud increased from 16 percent in 2022 to 24 percent this year.

Of the 24 precent of respondents only using public cloud, approximately 13 percent leverage multiple public clouds, while 11 percent use a single public cloud provider.

About 2 percent of respondents are only using a single private cloud provider, while another 2 percent are leveraging multiple private clouds only.