VMware vCloud Service Evaluation demonstrates enterprise-class cloud, offers easy on-ramp to vCloud services.

VMware, Inc., a cloud infrastructure provider, yesterday announced the vCloud Service Evaluation, an online service for customers to test-drive a cloud built on the VMware vCloud platform. The vCloud Service Evaluation will provide a quick and easy way for users to learn about the advantages of a vCloud through hands-on testing and experimentation. It also will provide a simple way to see VMware vCloud Director software in action and prepare customers to make the journey to the public cloud through a large network of service providers.

The company articulates that the vCloud Service Evaluation will be available at vcloud.vmware.com, an online destination where customers can find vCloud service providers and learn about their capabilities and coverage. vCloud Service Evaluation customers will be able to register with a credit card and receive access within minutes to their own vCloud Director-based cloud environment. They can then deploy pre-built operating system and application templates and use vCloud Connector to move workloads from their private cloud or VMware vSphere environment. Once they are finished evaluating, customers can use vCloud Connector to easily migrate to a vCloud service provider for production vCloud services.

According to it, the company will also be enhancing the vcloud.vmware.com experience with new, interactive community capabilities to provide a platform for cloud consumers to ask questions and share experiences as well as to offer rich educational resources such as how-to guides to help with getting started in the public cloud. As the gateway to the world's largest network of certified compatible public cloud services, vcloud.vmware.com will include more than 145 vClouds in 28 countries. Customers can register for VMware vCloud Service Evaluation today, and beta invites will be sent out starting August 27, 2012. Prices start at $0.04 an hour for a Linux VM with 1GB of RAM. To register for an invite, one needs to visit www.vmware.com/go/vcloudbeta.

"VMware and its vCloud service providers have created a broad ecosystem of cloud services to meet the needs of any business, and now we're going to give customers an easy way to see the power of a vCloud for themselves," said Mathew Lodge, Vice President, Cloud Services, VMware. "With the VMware vCloud Service Evaluation, customers will have a quick, simple and low-cost way to evaluate a vCloud so they can understand the value of working with a vCloud service provider and be prepared to make an informed decision on which public cloud best suits them."