Amazon Web Services (AWS) has moved to help VMware customers confounded by recent platform changes, with a new offering designed to help users run their workloads on the hyperscaler’s platform.

The Amazon Elastic VMware Service (EVS) allows VMware users to maintain their Cloud Foundation license, running it on AWS, without the need to replatform or refactor their applications.

Following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, the software platform has undergone a series of changes, most notably a shift away from perpetual licenses to a standardized subscription service.

AWS’s new service aims to quell the confusion and reduce operating costs by offering VMware users with Cloud Foundation licenses a platform to run their workloads, keeping their familiar tools, while also providing access to other applications in AWS.

Users can choose from self-managed Amazon EVS or working with AWS Partner Network providers to integrate their VMware workloads.

VMware Cloud Foundation license holders can also run their workloads directly within Amazon’s Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and deploy a fully functional environment using a simple step-by-step workflow.

Steven Jones, general manager of commercial applications at AWS, commented: “Amazon Elastic VMware Service offers customers a straightforward way to bring their VMware workloads to AWS using the tools they know and trust, plus an easy onramp to the breadth of AWS services to help them increase agility, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation.”

AWS’s Elastic VMware Service is generally available in a handful of its cloud regions, including U.S. East (N. Virginia), Europe (Dublin and Frankfurt), and Asia-Pacific (Tokyo), with additional coverage areas “coming soon.”

The hyperscaler said it’s already got several users signed up for the service, including the airline Aeromexico and Alcaldía de Cali, the municipal government of Santiago de Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city.

“With support for VCF license portability, this service helps customers maximize the value of their existing VCF investments while also benefiting from the scale and innovation of running on AWS,” said Ahmar Mohammad, VP of partners, managed services, and go-to-market solutions in Broadcom’s VMware Cloud Foundation Division.

“Our collaboration with AWS underscores Broadcom’s commitment to delivering flexibility, efficiency, and choice for Broadcom customers.”

AWS’s EVS may serve not only as a bridge for VMware users but a potential firewall against further defections from the VMware ecosystem amid rising interest in alternatives.

The likes of Nutanix and Red Hat have joined the growing list of firms circling to take advantage of the situation, which already includes XenServer, Wind River, and Microsoft through its Hyper-V offering.