VMware announced its vCloud Initiative, with support from 100+ partners, to deliver enterprise-class cloud computing, by federating compute capacity on demand between virtual datacenters and cloud service providers to support existing and new application loads. By enlisting broad support from partners across the industry, including BT, Rackspace, SAVVIS, Sungard, T-Systems, and Verizon Business, the VMware vCloud Initiative is aimed at helping companies both large and small safely tap compute capacity inside and outside their firewalls – how they want, when they want, and as much as they want – to ensure quality of service for any application they want to run, internally or as a service.

VMware Infrastructure is broadly used by businesses to operate internal IT infrastructure, as well as by traditional and emerging service providers, to deliver managed IT services such as managed applications, disaster recovery, web hosting, and hosted development environments. Going forward, VMware is expanding its virtual infrastructure into a Virtual Datacenter Operating System with the application, infrastructure, management, and cloud services to run existing application loads as well as future application loads developed on any framework. (See press release, “VMware Announces the Next Generation of Virtualization – the Virtual Datacenter Operating System.”) The core technology underpinning the VMware vCloud Initiative is a set of Cloud vServices that provide the APIs and technologies to enable enterprise-class cloud computing as well as federate between on-premise and off-premise clouds, scaling the infrastructure needed for peak load, service level management or disaster recovery.

“Until now, businesses have faced too high a hurdle to realize the benefits of cloud computing, including wholesale disruptive infrastructure and application changes,” said Paul Maritz, president and chief executive officer, VMware. “The VMware vCloud Initiative brings together industry innovators to deliver enterprise-class cloud computing for any customer and any application. Whether businesses want to expand their internal IT infrastructure into an internal cloud model or leverage off-premise compute capacity, the VMware platform would give them the flexibility and assurance to dial up and dial down the IT resources they need, when they need them, to run their businesses with high efficiency and agility.”

Tiered Service Model for Cloud Providers
The VMware vCloud Initiative enables enterprises and service providers to deliver a tiered set of service offerings ranging from basic cloud services to more advanced capabilities enabled by new Cloud vServices. Depending on the extent of cloud capabilities they are leveraging, service providers can deliver VMware Ready cloud services as follows:

1. VMware Ready cloud services leverage the benefits of VMware Infrastructure to deliver flexible enterprise class cloud, hosting, and managed services. VMware Ready cloud services are available today from service providers.

2. VMware Ready Optimized cloud services that use the Cloud vServices API, vApp technology, the OVF specification, and other VMware technologies to enable consistent mobility, provisioning, management, and service assurance of applications running in on-premise datacenters and in off-premise clouds. VMware Ready Optimized cloud services are under development with partners.

3. VMware Ready Integrated cloud services enable a common approach to integrated manageability between on-premise and external cloud environments as part of vCenter, VMware’s management product line. In addition, other integrated cloud service offerings will deliver cloud-optimized versions of VMware’s business continuity, virtual appliance authoring, and other key capabilities. VMware Ready Integrated cloud services are under development with partners.

“BT already uses VMware's current ESX technology as a key component of our virtual data centre capability,” said Stefan van Overtveldt, vice president, emerging technology & innovation, BT Global Services. “It underpins both our internal IT requirements and our external customer journey: Operational Efficiency IT. BT is working closely with VMware on various Initiatives to offer our customers across the globe BT's Service Oriented Infrastructure. This next generation of networked IT services will join together the management of network and compute capacity to achieve integrated service levels. BT's Service Oriented Infrastructure strategy and roadmap is aligned with the VMware vCloud Initiative.”

“One of the keys for success in cloud-based offerings will be the extensibility of the cloud services to customers’ existing applications. VMware’s vCloud Initiative helps bring together the right technology and partners to enable the flexibility and choice enterprise customers will require,” said John Humphreys, vice president of research, IDC. “It’s a smart move to leverage their extensive partner ecosystem, rather than open datacenters of their own. This gives customers the advantage of a broad choice of locations and the ability to choose providers based on quality of services as applications and business services are no longer hard-wired with a single provider.”

• VMware's vCloud Initiative