Going into VMworld 2018 in Las Vegas this week, industry analysts were wondering how VMware Inc. would expand its cloud partnership with Amazon Web Services Inc., jointly announced a year ago. They didn’t have to wait long. On Monday, AWS revealed that it would bring its Relational Database Service, or RDS, to VMware.

“This is a big deal,” said Stu Miniman (@stu), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the first day of the VMworld event. “I’m surprised, and most people here are surprised.”

Miniman was joined at the conference by co-hosts John Furrier (@furrier) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante), and they discussed the AWS decision to embrace the hybrid cloud, the impact of the move for VMware, and how the partnership could change the database landscape for other vendors. (* Disclosure below.)

AWS embraces the hybrid cloud

What caught a number of industry observers by surprise is that AWS, historically known for its strong cloud-first strategy, would embrace a hybrid cloud deployment. Amazon’s RDS technology on VMware will now allow enterprise customers to manage multiple databases across data centers.

“It’s out of Amazon’s DNA to actually go out and partner and bring in an on-premises device,” Furrier said. “The validation of the AWS deal is that Amazon is looking at the data center as an edge; the VMware community looks at this as an edge for them. The database business is what VMware is helping Amazon win.”

For VMware, the partnership with AWS is further validation of its “true private cloud” momentum as documented in a research study released last week by Wikibon. The report showed VMware as the “Alpha Dog” in the true private cloud market with a leading share of 24 percent over Nutanix Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. and Microsoft Corp.

“It’s clearly given VMware momentum,” said Vellante, who cautioned that the company will still have to capitalize its hybrid cloud strategy as it involves Kubernetes and other container technologies. “The degree that those things are integrated into the platform is a long way off. They have to invest.”

Monday’s announcement, which featured AWS Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy on stage during VMworld along with VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger (pictured), will likely put pressure on other database vendors, such as Oracle Corp. “Andy Jassy would like nothing more than to take a big chunk out of Larry Ellison’s business,” Miniman said. “The stickiest application inside the enterprise today is the database. Now you’ve got VMware, arm in arm with Amazon, to help migrate that really sticky application.”

Here’s the complete analysis, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s complete coverage of VMworld 2018. (* Disclosure: VMware Inc. sponsored coverage of VMworld, and some segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE are sponsored. Sponsors have no editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: VMware