IBM Public Cloud vs VMware Tanzu Platform comparison

IBM and VMware are both solutions in the PaaS Clouds category. IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.3, while VMware is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.4. Additionally, 86% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of VMware users who would recommend it.

IBM Public Cloud

Read 17 IBM Public Cloud reviews

5,317 Views
3,705 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

VMware Tanzu Platform

Read 20 VMware Tanzu Platform reviews

2,486 Views
1,974 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Public Cloud

VMware Tanzu Platform

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 15, 2024

IBM Public Cloud and VMware Tanzu Platform compete in cloud and application development. IBM Public Cloud has the upper hand in terms of cost-effectiveness and enterprise security, while VMware Tanzu offers advanced features that justify its higher cost.

Features: IBM Public Cloud offers AI capabilities, scalability, and enterprise-grade security. It allows ordering custom hardware and supports serverless functions with IBM Functions. VMware Tanzu provides robust Kubernetes support, integrates seamlessly with vSphere, and allows comprehensive application monitoring and management.

Room for Improvement: IBM Public Cloud could enhance its documentation clarity and broaden its specialized app development support. It could improve its integration capabilities with third-party tools. VMware Tanzu can focus on simplifying setups for less complex applications and perhaps explore cost reduction strategies for smaller enterprises. Additionally, Tanzu could further enhance its user interface for even easier navigation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VMware Tanzu offers streamlined container-based deployment with solid documentation and responsive service support. IBM Public Cloud provides user-friendly deployment and reliable customer support, though its documentation can lag behind Tanzu’s in clarity. Tanzu's container focus contrasts IBM’s comprehensive approach.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Public Cloud presents a clear pricing model beneficial for businesses seeking lower setup costs, thus offering strong ROI. VMware Tanzu, despite its higher initial costs, provides significant ROI through robust modernization capabilities and efficiency over time. IBM’s solution is cost-effective for scalable solutions, while Tanzu’s ROI is driven by its advanced app and infrastructure management features.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Public Cloud vs. VMware Tanzu Platform Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Public Cloud vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

IBM Public Cloud

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

13th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IoT Platforms (6th)

VMware Tanzu Platform

Ranking in PaaS Clouds

9th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Build Automation (12th), Cloud Management (17th), Development Platforms (3rd), Container Management (3rd), Service Mesh (4th), Agile and DevOps Services (5th)

Featured Reviews

Shivakumar Kuppannan

Founder & CEO at Star Systems India Private Limited

No hidden charges, 100% stable, and allows us to have bare metal servers for dedicated workload

It pretty much has all the features. There are many applications and features, and because of that, we need to walk through or study all the material and do hands-on. We need clear documentation or support for using IBM Public Cloud. The UI is fine, and everything else in terms of usability and configuring the cloud is also fine. The only thing is that when we're stuck or get an error, we need some technical support. Normally, for any cloud, we get a lot of information on the web, but that is missing in the case of IBM Public Cloud. We need some technical support documents. That is the only thing missing in IBM Public Cloud.

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Vikram Casula

Head Of Infrastructure & Cloud ops at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Gives a single pane to manage multiple Kubernetes environments and has competitive pricing

Tanzu provides better manageability as compared to OCP, but when it comes to tagging it with other products, it's a bit rigid. If I have to bring in any new product or something out of the box from a different vendor, working with Tanzu becomes a little difficult. For example, if I want to use the F5 services, I have to add one more layer of Avi, but I don't want to do that. If I have a list of the products that I want to use, such as for firewall services, with Tanzu, I will have to go through another layer, which creates complexity. The other part is that the virtualization and the database have to be at separate levels. That is another problem for me. We are a big Oracle customer. Oracle and VMware don't go very well. From a licensing point of view, it never works.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The beauty of cloud service providers, especially public cloud service providers, is that they are scalable every time when you need them because their payment model is pay-as-you-go."

"An advantage of IBM Public Cloud is the bare metal server. We can take the bare metal server. It's not shared with anyone. We can deploy our applications without sharing them with anyone. That is an advantage of IBM Public Cloud."

"There is no installation for this product because it is a cloud product."

"The availability is second to none. Customer support is very good."

"It provides robust analytics and management tools to give customers complete visibility into their environment and infrastructure."

"What I like most in IBM Public Cloud is how easy it is to create serverless functions. They are called IBM functions, but in AWS, they are called Lambda functions. Those are pretty standard, and another thing I like the most is that you have fewer restrictions on the amount of data you can transfer across those functions. IBM Public Cloud is way more flexible than AWS. I also like that IBM Public Cloud is pretty straightforward to integrate. As long as you have all the tools IBM provides you, getting everything up and running is straightforward."

"This product is very good because it is accessible in remote locations, and anyone can deploy from any place."

"It is a scalable product. You can scale it up and down."

More IBM Public Cloud pros

"There are a lot of services available in VMware Tanzu Application Service, such as databases and application servers. You have everything you need in one application and you do not need to search outside of the solution."

"The most valuable feature of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is the management functionality of the cluster life cycle. Additionally, the solution integrates well with other vendors, such as Velero for backups and Sonobuoy for compliance. Additionally, it works well in multi-cluster environments."

"The most popular feature of VMware Tanzu Mission Control is its graphical user interface for describing network policies on the Service Mesh, which is highly integrable with other tools commonly used in supply chains such as security."

"The most important feature of Tanzu Mission Control is its integration with the other products, especially with ESX and vSAN. This is a strong part of Tanzu Mission Control. In other solutions, such as OpenShift or Kubernetes, you can find similar features, but they don't have similar integration. With Tanzu Mission Control, you get a total solution with only one provider. You have the integration with the infrastructure, virtualization of networking, and virtualization of storage. You have a natural integration, and you don't have the problem of integrating it with different products or providers. Sometimes, different companies have good integration, but it is not always guaranteed. For example, many years ago, Cisco and VMware were good partners in networking, but when VMware started to sell ESX, the relationship was broken. This is the problem that you can face when you are using solutions from two different companies."

"It definitely gives the end customer a good overview and perspective of running applications in terms of overall workload footprint. TMC provides a very detailed description of your cloud-native application in the form of graphical visualization."

"We never experienced any problems with scalability."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the ability to check the flow of all the different variants within our applications."

"The most important thing about the solution is its flexibility."

More VMware Tanzu Platform pros

Cons

"There is not a lot of support for this solution, which is something that needs to be improved."

"An area for improvement in IBM Public Cloud is getting up-to-date information on how to set up everything. It's hard to find new documentation."

"They could improve on customizing reporting capabilities."

"Recently, we just faced some issues with the operating system due to the end of life of CentOS 6...So, then the client wanted to try it out under AWS instead of IBM. In short, it has some complexities."

"They do not have a very good virtual network implemented, and the VPC is the most important feature that needs to be improved."

"Normally, for any cloud, we get a lot of information on the web, but that is missing in the case of IBM Public Cloud. We need some technical support documents. That is the only thing missing in IBM Public Cloud."

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."

"Support could be improved."

More IBM Public Cloud cons

"The solution is currently focused on VMware infrastructure and I would like to see more options made available."

"It is not easy to build a solution with containers. It has a graphical user interface, but you need to have a lot of knowledge of Linux and how to work in the command mode. Its support can also be improved. Currently, its biggest disadvantage is that it is a new product, and the clients prefer to go for a solution that has been in the market for a long time. There are not that many people who know this product."

"Having a unified dashboard to manage all infrastructure, whether it involves additional IT infrastructure or modern apps, would be highly advantageous"

"Addressing the high upfront costs could improve the product. Implementing a subscription-based model with tiered service options could make it more accessible to a broader range of customers."

"The disaster recovery feature could be improved to provide better tracking of issues. I would also like to see the introduction of a dashboard view, for even further integration of all the areas that Mission Control looks at."

"The infrastructure is quite challenging."

"The implementation is not easy, it is very complex and can take a day or two to complete."

"The network control and security policies must be improved."

More VMware Tanzu Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Public Cloud is pretty cheap. They have an ongoing free tier that basically won't expire, so as long as your solution is small enough, you can have a test set that you can use for demos, which will cost you almost nothing."

"The price of IBM Cloud is very cheap compared to competitors AWS and Azure."

"We are using the trial version of this solution, so we have not paid anything."

"In order to be competitive, you have to commit to a contract for at least one year, but you pay a fixed monthly fee."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a nine out of ten."

"Pricing is not as fair as Amazon or Azure."

"The licensing fees are straightforward and predictable."

"It pretty much has a standard price. There is no hidden price with IBM Public Cloud."

More IBM Public Cloud pricing and cost advice

"VMware Tanzu Mission Control is cheaper than Red Hat OpenShift."

"The licensing cost is expensive."

"It is not the most expensive option, and I believe the capabilities align well with the value it provides."

"The product is not expensive, but it is not cheap."

"Since we were at a large data center, the price might not have been a concern for us."

"Its pricing is very competitive. We get around 70% or 75%, sometimes even 80%, discount on the product. I would rate it a four out of five in terms of pricing."

"One of our Spanish customers told us that VMware Tanzu Service Mesh is a very expensive product for their data center."

"The license for VMware Tanzu Application Service is expensive. The license should be cheaper."

More VMware Tanzu Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

University

13%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is preferable - IBM Public Cloud or Microsoft Azure?

IBM Public Cloud is IBM’s Platform-as-a-Service. It aims to provide organizations with a secure cloud environment to manage data and applications. One of the features we like is the cloud activity ...

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What needs improvement with IBM Cloud?

The front end is not pervasive, so it is very difficult get the status of your current services or account from a mobile device.

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM Public Cloud?

The most valuable feature of IBM Public Cloud is the AI integrations.

See all answers

Which is better - OpenShift Container Platform or VMware Tanzu Mission Control?

Red Hat Openshift is ideal for organizations using microservices and cloud environments. I like that the platform is auto-scalable, which saves overhead time for developers. I think Openshift can b...

See all answers

What do you like most about VMware Tanzu Application Service?

The solution is integrated very well with a lot of other systems. Also, its GUI is very good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Tanzu Application Service?

The licensing cost is yearly. The licensing cost is expensive.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 40% of the time

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 26% of the time

Amazon AWS vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 17% of the time

Google Cloud vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 3% of the time

Dell ECS vs IBM Public Cloud

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Public Cloud Competitors

Rancher Labs vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 18% of the time

Nutanix Kubernetes Engine NKE vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 13% of the time

Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 12% of the time

Kubernetes vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon EKS vs VMware Tanzu Platform

Compared 8% of the time

More VMware Tanzu Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Public Cloud

January 2025

Download IBM Public Cloud product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Tanzu Platform

December 2024

Download VMware Tanzu Platform product report

Also Known As

IBM Bluemix

Tanzu Application Catalog, Application Platform, Application Service, Hub, Mission Control, Service Mesh, Build Service, Concourse for VMware Tanzu

Learn More

IBM

VMware

Overview

IBM Cloud is a full-stack cloud platform that spans public, private and hybrid environments. Build with a robust suite of advanced data and AI tools, and draw on deep industry expertise to help you on your journey to the cloud.

VMware Tanzu Platform is designed for cloud-native development and management of Kubernetes, CI/CD processes, microservices, and containerized workloads. It supports deployments both on cloud and on-premises, providing centralized management via Mission Control.

VMware Tanzu Platform offers seamless integration with vSphere, ESX, and vSAN, supporting centralized cluster management and lifecycle management. The platform provides a GUI for monitoring CI/CD pipelines and network policies, enhancing multi-tenancy and Day 2 operations. Users can easily manage Kubernetes clusters, monitor applications, and integrate with tools such as GitHub, GitLab, Cloud Foundry, and Azure. It ensures compliance and security for service providers, financial institutions, and businesses.

What are the key features of VMware Tanzu Platform?

Integration with vSphere, ESX, and vSAN: Enhances compatibility and flexibility.
Seamless Cluster Management: Centralized control over Kubernetes clusters.
CI/CD Pipelines and Network Policies: Simplifies monitoring and management.
Multi-tenancy Support: Facilitates resource sharing among multiple users.
Comprehensive Lifecycle Management: Streamlines deployment and scalability.
Observability Platform: Provides enhanced visibility and control.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in VMware Tanzu Platform reviews?

Centralized Management: Simplifies operations and reduces manual effort.
Enhanced Compliance and Security: Meets regulatory requirements.
Flexibility in Deployment: Supports both cloud and on-premises options.
Seamless Integration: Works with multiple vendors and tools.
Developer-Friendly Environment: Improves productivity and innovation.

Industries such as financial institutions, service providers, and businesses requiring rigorous compliance and security deploy VMware Tanzu Platform. These entities benefit from centralized management, streamlined DevOps processes, and integrated tools, enhancing their capabilities in cloud-native developments and containerized workloads.

Sample Customers

Uvionics Tech, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Alpha Modus, Inventive, Web Business Consulting, FindBrok, SilverHook Powerboats, United Way of Allegheny County

Verizon, Cerner, Zipcar, Avarteq

Buyer's Guide

IBM Public Cloud vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

January 2025

Free Report: IBM Public Cloud vs. VMware Tanzu Platform

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