Cloud offering won't compete with channel, says Virgin Media

Virgin Media Business (VMB) has teamed up with cloud computing specialist Savvis to launch its first true cloud product, the Virtual Private Data Centre (VPDC), but has moved to reassure its service provider channel that it does not plan to compete with them.

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The new service is pitched firmly at the enterprise end of the market, said VMB apps and services head Matt McCloskey. "We're not competing with the big public cloud providers; this is about enterprise-class services delivered through enterprise-class connectivity."

Nor does VMB's business partner channel have access to the VPDC offering, although McCloskey said that this was open to change if demand materialised.

"We do recognise that cloud is a significant opportunity not just for us but for our channel partners, and we launched datacentre programmes earlier this year that help partners maximise their investment in the cloud," he said.

The firm claims the VPDC will deliver increased computing power quickly and easily, enabling IT managers to design and deploy their own private datacentre within minutes across Virgin's nationwide fibreoptic network.

Virgin Media COO, Andrew Barron, said that customers were "hungry for simplicity" from a market that has been "subjected to hype, jargon and unsubstantiated claims".

"We're giving organisations clear and simple advice, backed up by the most user-friendly and effective technology available," he said.

David Molony, principal analyst at Ovum, added, said the launch made "a big statement about the business' intentions to be a significant challenger in the UK's business telecoms market and the service will certainly challenge those from BT and Cable & Wireless."