VMware is working with datacentre hosting companies to enable
them to offer its
virtualisation products as a hosted service to IT
departments.
The strategy aims to make it easier for businesses to buy
computing capacity on demand by linking internal IT resources to a
third-party datacentre running VMware.
The virtualisation company's vCloud initiative is supported by
more than 100 partners including BT, Rackspace, Sungard and
T-Systems.
VMware said vCloud is aimed at making it easier for companies of
all sizes to tap into extra capacity from an external datacentre
provider when required for disaster recovery, peak loads or to meet
service level agreements.
Paul Maritz, VMware chief executive officer and president, said
that initiative will help businesses overcome hurdles such as
disruptive infrastructure and application changes.
Any application currently running on a VMware infrastructure can
run in a VMware-based cloud without modification, VMware said.
VMware announced the move alongside its
vCloud and vClient intitiatives at VMworld in Las Vegas.
They represent VMware's strategy for the next few years to help
maintain its position in the virtualisation market in the face of
increasing competition.