VMware has announced an expanded partnership to help global clients and partners modernize mission-critical workloads and expedite time to value in hybrid cloud environments. The expanded relationship, announced at the ongoing VMware Explore conference, includes IBM Consulting as a VMware GSI partner, the companies’ intent to deliver new jointly engineered IBM and VMware Cloud solutions and joint development and go to market.

Together, IBM and VMware are planning to help clients in regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare and public sector address the cost, complexity and risk of migrating and modernizing mission-critical workloads in the cloud.

As part of the expanded partnership, IBM Consulting is now a GSI Partner for VMware to help clients accelerate their business transformation and hybrid cloud journeys. IBM Consulting will provide services to migrate, modernize and manage clients’ most important workloads across any hybrid, multi-cloud environment in an open, more secured way.

Since launching the IBM and VMware Joint Innovation Lab in 2018, 20 hybrid cloud and AI-focused projects have been completed to extend the capabilities of IBM Cloud and address client needs for mission-critical VMware workloads. For example, the creation of a VMware-enabled reference architecture was developed and integrated into IBM Cloud for Financial Services offerings. The Lab brings together engineering, sales, marketing and enablement capabilities from both companies and is a co-innovation engine for solving client problems.

The new agreement will expand the Lab’s innovation pipeline for another three years with funding for the development of joint products and solutions.

IBM and VMware are collaborating to enable IBM Cloud Satellite for VMware. For workloads that need to remain on-premises, IBM Cloud Satellite now supports VMware workloads in any environment where they run, bringing the enhanced security and open innovation of IBM Cloud services to the client’s datacenter. IBM Cloud Satellite brings a secured and unified layer of cloud services for clients, in any environment.