Maritz: Cloud computing is next logical step

Maritz: Cloud computing is next logical step

As ever increasing numbers of companies move towards virtualisation, cloud computing is the next logical step.

This is the view of Paul Maritz, chief executive of VMware. Speaking at the launch of the company's VMworld 2011 conference, Mr Maritz noted that the desktop computer is a solution ill-suited to today's workforce.

“PCs are not the only animal in the zoo anymore,” he remarked. “Increasingly, users are holding other devices in their hands.” As a result, providers need to move away from offering all necessary applications and data through one device or operating system and should instead look at improving the management of virtual resources.

VMware is responding to this issue by offering up more software for organisations to use while running private and hybrid clouds. Mr Maritz noted that around 50 per cent of the world's infrastructure already runs on virtualisation, making the move to the cloud somewhat simpler.

Obviously, providers such as VMware will benefit from the move, but a cloud computing infrastructure will also be beneficial for the companies involved as the workforce becomes increasingly dynamic. This is because administrators will be able to focus on delivering the needs of people rather than of individual devices. Improved options for scalability are also on the cards with virtualisation and the cloud, which is also likely to deliver a lower overall operating cost.

Mr Martiz' comments follow the launch of the company's vSphere 5.0, which was released in July and shipped in August ahead of the VMworld event. The server virtualisation stack was delivered on time following hundreds of thousands of programming hours and quality assurance testing to certify that the system would run smoothly on more than 2,000 different hardware and software products in use by its partners.

The chief executive stated that the company is aiming for virtualisation and cloud software to be treated in the same way as hardware has been in the past; “It just has to work,” he remarked. While this results in intensive testing and hard hours of programming for the cloud or virtualisation provider, it takes a significant load off the end organisation's IT department.

Businesses looking to move services into the cloud should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.