AWS: Amazon Cloud is the New Windows Server
In the 1990s, thousands of ISVs (independent software vendors) and VARs built their businesses atop Microsoft‘s (MSFT) Windows NT Server. Fast forward to the present, and it seems clear that ISVs are jumping on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud bandwagon. Will VARs do the same?
During the recent AWS re:Invent 2013 conference in Las Vegas, numerous ISVs — including storage, security and Big Data companies — described their Amazon cloud strategies. Now comes word that MSPs and their software providers are jumping into Amazon’s cloud.
Attention Server Resellers
Will VARs follow suit? So far the answer is mixed. Over the past year, thousands of VARs have been seeking alternatives to Windows Small Business Server (SBS) — which Microsoft killed in 2012. Some VARs insist that their small business customers want to keep data on-premises. Others say broadband services in their areas aren’t ready for cloud applications.
But increasingly, it seems like former SBS resellers are warming up to Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud suite. Moreover, Windows Azure — Microsoft alternative to AWS — has growing momentum. And of course, sales of Microsoft’s full-blown Windows Server (on premises) continue to grow — though the overall server hardware market has been flat to falling this year.
Here Comes AWS…
Surely, Amazon’s cloud is playing a role in those falling server sales. Indeed, AWS seems to be leading the cloud services market — with some pundits predicting Amazon will generate $4 billion or more in cloud revenues in 2014. Along the way, a growing number of MSPs are moving workloads onto Amazon’s cloud, MSPmentor reports.
The VAR Guy wonders: Will value-added resellers take the AWS plunge, too?
If the Varguy is restricting
If the Varguy is restricting his argument in this article of Amazon EC2 AWS Cloud Services versus Microsoft Azure Cloud Services (apples-to-apples) only – not AWS SaaS versus Microsoft Server, then he should have clarified it so, otherwise his position is disjointed at best, since the OpenStack based Cloud Services providers are also attracting a significant proportion of the large ISV, systems integrators and even thousands of former Microsoft SMS vendors to their solutions, just like Amazon is doing
These OpenStack Cloud Services can also provide a similar, complete compliment of full stack Microsoft technologies and services via very robust, reliable, scalable and secure virtualization layers.
Therefore, the dilemma for Microsoft is not just Amazon encroachment, but the OpenStack homogeneity enveloping their business as well.
Wanderson: You raise some
Wanderson: You raise some healthy points about OpenStack. Yes, The VAR Guy’s team has covered a range of OpenStack distributions and certifications/training classes. But overall I think the vast majority of customers and partners are simply looking for new places to run their Windows Server workloads. Generally speaking I doubt the word OpenStack enters the thought process, even if OpenStack is the underlying cloud platform… -jp