(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — In the same week it announced an expanded relationship with networking solutions provider Cisco (www.cisco.com) focused on the development of private clouds for the enterprise, Internet infrastructure services provider Savvis (www.savvis.net) has announced that more than a dozen enterprise customers have signed on for a trial of its new private cloud service.
On Monday, Savvis said it will be integrating Cisco’s Unified Computing System as the cornerstone of Savvis Symphony, Savvis’ next-generation private cloud platform (previously known as Project Spirit), which will begin its testing phase in January 2010 from two of its 28 data centers. Featuring multi-tiered security and quality of service capabilities, Savvis envisions Symphony as the platform that enterprises will choose for powering their virtual private data centers.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that at least a dozen enterprises are ready to take the plunge, taking advantage of the managed IT infrastructure solutions and enterprise private cloud options available from the partnership between Savvis and Cisco. The companies collaborated on the development of a reference architecture to let enterprise customers take advantage of the Infrastructure-as-a-Service benefits available in Savvis Symphony.
“Savvis is one of the first service providers to deliver private cloud and Cisco Unified Computing System benefits to the enterprise,” Cisco worldwide operations executive vice president Rob Lloyd said in a statement. “The Cisco Unified Computing System is a key element in the Cisco service provider portfolio, which is evolving the data center to a more consolidated, virtualized and automated environment that lays the foundation for cloud computing. We are working closely to support Savvis and Savvis Symphony to provide our mutual customers with cloud IT infrastructure services based on Cisco’s Unified Service Delivery architecture.”
This architecture was tested and validated end-to-end in Cisco’s labs, which should enable Savvis to quickly bring these services to a market demanding the flexibility of cloud services but with the security and reliability of enterprise-class hosting.
“The market for IT infrastructure is undergoing profound change as virtualization and new technologies impact cost strategies and alignment with the business,” Savvis chief executive officer Phil Koen said in a statement. “Enterprises want all the benefits of cloud computing, but acquiring, integrating and managing the new technologies is not for everyone. We look forward to working with Cisco’s global sales force experts with deep experience in virtualization and Cisco technologies, with a unified vision of private clouds for the enterprise.”
