Data Storage Virtualisation

VMware Inc. has announced its acquisition of two start-up companies that will help it progress its virtualisation and cloud computing offerings.

VMware is a virtualisation and cloud-computing specialist which lets user’s access data remotely through the internet.

The company has bought Integrien Corp. a company that provides virtualisation management products and TriCipher, a cloud security company.

As virtualisation and cloud computing is currently such big business, VMware will find itself even better placed than usual to becoming one of the top cloud providers.

Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s chief operating officer has said that cloud computing is the main component of a four point plan for Microsoft to stay ahead of the game in the business software market.

According to Turner, thirteen of the top twenty telecoms companies are now customers of Microsoft’s cloud computing. Other new customers include Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and Dow Chemical Co.

Cloud computing is set to be the new big thing in the telecoms world and while two years ago Microsoft was nowhere, now it is winning bids against big competitors.

Microsoft, the multinational technology corporation, has just announced that it has partnered up with LG Uplus in order to provide services in South Korea.

Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, has said that he hopes the move will allow businesses in South Korea to develop and improve their productivity.

Along with LG Uplus, Microsoft will be providing cloud computing services in South Korea, the new technology that has become the next big thing in telecoms.

Cloud computing allows information to be stored and accessed from the ‘cloud’ and can save companies a lot of money. Customers can access their data via any device with an internet connection.

VMware Inc. Chief Executive Paul Maritz has said that investment into cloud computing is once again up, after a massive drop due to the recession.

As well as the economic downturn, cloud computing is a technology that has only recently been given attention. Because of this fact and a few early bug bears, there has been a lot of hesitancy in the uptake of cloud computing data storage solutions. Now though, this has passed and with the massive cost savings to be made, more and more companies are turning to cloud computing as a preferred solution.

VMware is the current market leader in virtualisation technologies which helps servers function as a single computer, effectively creating a cloud.

How do you know a technology is becoming a mainstream technology? Why, when it becomes standardised by the International Telecommunications Union of course! The ITU is the telecoms standard body and once that gets involved, you know that the technology is about to become mainstream.

Such is the case for cloud computing. Once a fringe technology and widely mistrusted, cloud computing and cloud based data storage is becoming extremely widespread. So to make the solution safe for widespread consumption, the ITU will address current standards and introduce any new ones that are needed. Cloud computing is becoming ever more popular as businesses want to capitalise of cost savings and speed.

EMC, a leading technology company, has just revealed a new platform that will apparently expand storage virtualisation by virtualising data centre storage across different areas. Known as the VPlex platform, it is EMC’s way of bringing virtualisation to the data storage space, allowing the consolidation of data storage in a single-tier view which in turn allows data centres across different locations to work together as a system, which should make data storage a whole lot easier!

EMC is also offering the VPlex Metro system which is for companies that want disaster recovery options as well as workload balancing between data centres up to 100km apart.

IBM has just announced its purchase of Cast Iron Systems, an internet - based company based in California, that will help realise IBM’s ambition of building up a range of cloud based services.

IBM has said that Cast Iron will be amalgamated into its business process integration and software department, offering a dynamic mix of cloud services and local applications. IBM is hoping to appeal to IT and telecoms companies with the new solutions.

The subsidiary of China VoIP & Digital Telecom Inc, Jinan Yinquan Technology, has signed a deal with three system integrators, Shandong Huitong Technology Company, Qingdao Century River Electric Engineering Company; and Qingdao Chuanghengxin Network Technology Company. The deal will mean that the system integrators will market the virtualisation products of Jinan Yinquan Technology in Shandong.

Jinan Yinquan Technology has innovative virtualisation solutions, however, market penetration will be much easier using the system integrators. Good luck to the lot of them!