Neeharika Palaka and Shagun Tewari co-wrote this blog post.
VMware Marketplace is VMware’s one-stop shop for all ecosystem solutions, with a robust catalog of more than 2,000 solutions covering open source software, first-party tools, and commercial software. VMware Marketplace is currently used by thousands of people to download, deploy, subscribe to, and purchase these solutions in a direct and easy way. For our hundreds of publishing partners, the Marketplace represents an easy way to reach the wide VMware customer base and showcase their compatible third-party solutions across all VMware products, including VMware Tanzu, VMware vSphere, VMware vRealize Suite, and more.
Currently, VMware Marketplace includes almost 200 open source solutions packaged and published by Bitnami, which was acquired by VMware in 2019. These open source solutions are widely utilized by Marketplace users for development, testing, and other use cases.
Marketplace customers use these free Bitnami open source solutions for development and test environments. However, most enterprises—especially those with strict IT security and compliance policies—prefer to instead use our enterprise offering, VMware Application Catalog, for production scenarios. VMware Application Catalog (formerly called Tanzu Application Catalog) is a catalog of trusted, continuously maintained, and verifiably tested open source images, custom-built to enterprise specifications and privately delivered directly to a customer’s registry of choice.
Previously, the VMware Application Catalog user interface was accessed by customers directly via VMware’s Cloud Services Platform. Starting July 2022, the VMware Application Catalog user interface will be surfaced through VMware Marketplace, making the Marketplace a true one-stop shop for first-party solutions, third-party solutions, free open source solutions, and curated, hardened open source images for users.
Below, we highlight what this user interface integration means for you and your company. To learn more about this integration through a live demo and direct Q&A with our experts, register for our upcoming July 26 webinar.
What will change for current VMware Application Catalog users?
If you're an existing user of VMware Application Catalog, this new integration into VMware Marketplace will mainly result in a change in the initial user interface while logging in to the Cloud Services Console in order to request images from VMware Application Catalog.
Previously, when VMware Application Catalog users logged in to the console with their credentials or organization details, they clicked the VMware Application Catalog tile.
With this integration, they’ll log in using the same Cloud Services Console credentials but will see a VMware Marketplace tile instead of the standalone VMware Application Catalog tile. Clicking on this tile will redirect them to the VMware Marketplace homepage. On the VMware Marketplace homepage, users with a Catalog Admin role will be able to access the Configure tab and start using and managing their custom catalog as usual with actions such as Registries, Base Images, or Request Applications under the Build Catalog section.
New initial UI view for existing, paid VMware Application Catalog users
Alternatively, users may simply go to the VMware Marketplace homepage at marketplace.cloud.vmware.com, sign in with their existing Cloud Services Console credentials, and begin accessing the interface shown above.
Previously, VMware Application Catalog users were able to see only their requested custom catalog. With the integration into VMware Marketplace, these users will not only continue to utilize their custom catalog subscription as usual, but also have the choice to pick from the full breadth of VMware Marketplace solutions, which includes third-party software, first-party products, and even free open source software packaged by Bitnami for development and test environments—all in one user interface.
What will change for current VMware Marketplace users?
If you are an existing user of VMware Marketplace but have not purchased VMware Application Catalog, you will not have access to the custom catalog user interface mentioned in the previous section. However, you will still be able to explore what VMware Application Catalog is about and see all the applications the product supports today. VMware Marketplace users can see these details through the VMware Application Catalog overview section under the Explore menu in the VMware Marketplace UI.
New VMware Application Catalog section under the Explore tab for Marketplace users who have not purchased VMware App Catalog
New VMware Application Catalog overview section within the Explore tab
If you are interested in browsing further and learning more about VMware Application Catalog, you may click the Talk to an Expert link, through which you can contact us directly to learn more.
Why VMware Application Catalog is useful for VMware Marketplace users
You may be wondering why you should purchase VMware Application Catalog when you already have access to free, open source solutions by Bitnami on the VMware Marketplace. Whether you are a developer, DevOps manager, administrator, or operator, there are plenty of reasons to upgrade to VMware Application Catalog.
Today, thousands of developers utilize VMware Marketplace to procure free Bitnami solutions for dev and test scenarios, such as building and quickly improving microservices. VMware Application Catalog represents a way to use the same trusted and beloved solutions within enterprise settings, while ensuring these application building blocks comply with IT security and compliance policies.
For DevOps managers, the Marketplace allows the configuration and operation of open source software in a systematic way. With VMware Application Catalog, DevOps managers can also determine specifics of this software, such as a custom base OS image and a choice of registry where the custom-packaged software should be delivered.
For admins across IT, databases, cloud, and network security, the Marketplace is a unified location from which they can get the latest software tools, and thus better support their internal developers and DevOps teams. With VMware Application Catalog, admins can enable their internal customers, such as developer teams, to safely use open source solutions that come along with a detailed software bill of materials that serves as proof of provenance and provides the assurance that these solutions have been curated, packaged, delivered per enterprise specifications, and are continuously maintained and updated.
For more details on the benefits of utilizing a curated, production-ready open source catalog versus using free open source solutions, refer to our recent blog posts. Be sure to also check out the replay of our recent webinar!
Learn more
Looking to learn more or have more questions? You can register for our webinar coming up on July 26, where we will go over this integration in greater detail. The session will also feature a Q&A opportunity with experts on Bitnami, VMware Marketplace, and VMware Application Catalog, so be sure to sign up today!
