Securing the Enterprise Ready Cloud

In the doldrums of the August heat, while many of us were on vacation (at least that's my excuse), a partnership was announced that went somewhat unnoticed.

CSC announced a commitment to cloud computing with V-block and VCE as the cornerstone. CSC will create a new solutions business unit, set up multiple centers of excellence globally, and launch IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS offerings all centered around V-Block based technology.

This is a bigger deal than many people think, illustrated by the fact that the five quotes in their press release on August 24^th were from Cisco Chairman & CEO John Chambers; VMware President and CEO Paul Maritz; Michael Laphen, Chairman, President, and CEO of CSC; Joe Tucci, Chairman and CEO of EMC; and Michael Capellas, Chairman of the VCE coalition. Notably, Capellas was not identified by his other title in the release as CEO of Acadia Enterprises, the services company set up by EMC and Cisco to lead technology integration.

So why would all these CEOs line up for a press release on coming attractions?

Because a major outsourcer announcing a "point of view" that V-Block is the prime cloud-ready enterprise platform is a big deal.

1. Enterprise customers need robust technology and process behind their moves to cloud. CSC provides the integration point for both.
2. CSC has street credibility and security expertise in major markets where cloud will play, such as the government and heavily regulated industries.
3. A company like CSC can start "shifting" revenue streams to cloud from and within existing contracts rather than having to acquire new customers with new cloud offerings.

When you couple all of this with the fact that a move to cloud computing can improve CSC's own margins through more efficient delivery if IT services, it makes this partnership one worth paying attention to.

Read more of Jeff's blog entries at Speed & Change - The Business of IT Services