Cloud service providers can utilize either traditional infrastructure (servers with legacy storage), a hyper-converged platform, such as vSAN, or a combination of both. A hyper-converged platform is a platform that combines compute, storage, networking, and virtualization resources and management, enabling scale-out consumption. The tight integration of vSAN with vSphere enables VMware Cloud Providers to host public or private cloud offerings and easily utilize vSAN as the underlying storage infrastructure.

The customers of service providers that leverage vSAN predominately run mission-critical workloads in which stability, reliability, and predictability are extremely important. Many traditional infrastructures, over time, hinder VMware Cloud Providers’ ability to remain competitive in such a price-sensitive market. vSAN enables VMware Cloud Providers launching new offerings to avoid the large capital expenditures typically associated with legacy storage arrays.

VMware Cloud Providers who offer consumers hybrid cloud-based virtualized solutions, such as vSphere as a Service, Desktop-as-a-Service, Tier 1 applications, and Database-as-a-Service, are ideal candidates for vSAN. Additionally, VMware Cloud Providers can leverage vSAN as the storage infrastructure for their vCloud Director cloud offering.