• Partnership to deliver business and technology benefits for the end-user

Claranet, the managed services provider, is extending its relationship with Dell following the launch of its Virtual Data Centre cloud offering. The new service, developed to meet the needs of companies looking to migrate their internal IT infrastructure to the cloud, is based on Dell servers, the compute element of the infrastructure supporting the Virtual Data Centre service.

With cloud set to change the business IT landscape, Dell has invested over $1bn globally to deliver solutions, services and cloud-based options to help customers capture the benefits from new compute and information delivery advances. Dell has been active in the cloud market for some time, offering open, capable and affordable solutions across hardware and services.

The new cloud computing service from Claranet – Virtual Data Centre – is based on the delivery of enterprise-class services, fully integrating computing and network provisioning, addressing the key proposition of cloud deployments: the ability to control costs, scalability and speed of implementation.

Michel Robert, managing director, Claranet UK, stated:

Cloud computing offers scalability and flexibility, and because of this, it is becoming a central part of business IT strategy for companies and organisations of all sizes. Having a major technology player like Dell commit to supporting our cloud strategy not only reinforces our existing relationship, but helps guarantee our customers high-performance cloud services based on enterprise-class technology. We are delighted to be extending our relationship with Dell and believe that their continued support will help Claranet deliver a reliable and business relevant service for our end-users.

Thomas Volk, VP EMEA for Large Enterprises, Dell, added:

At Dell, we deliver compute infrastructures that enable control, manageability and security balanced with high performance, allowing cloud service providers such as Claranet to operate efficiently and reliably. Our relationship with Claranet is one that we will both work closely on to ensure that it succeeds and this is just the first step in what we hope will be a long-term partnership both here in the UK and across Europe.

• Industry survey details mid-market adoption of cloud prevails in the UK

The mid-market is leading the charge towards the adoption of cloud computing, according to the latest research from managed services provider Claranet.

According to the research, there appears to be more use of cloud services amongst medium-sized businesses, where 60 percent of those organisations reported using cloud services. This compared to fewer small-sized (44 percent) and enterprise-sized (48 per cent) organisations.

The research, conducted in November 2011, into cloud adoption rates amongst businesses in the UK, polled three hundred senior IT decision-makers to build a comprehensive profile on the UK cloud computing market.

The research also found that 55 per cent of respondents confirmed that they are using cloud in some capacity today. Of this 55 per cent, 27 per cent have been using cloud-based services in one form or another over the last 12 months, while 28 per cent started using cloud in the previous year.

Michel Robert, managing director at Claranet UK stated: The reasons for the lower uptake amongst smaller and larger enterprises could perhaps be explained in two ways. Smaller companies may lack in-house IT expertise to manage the services themselves, for large enterprises there are issues around risk assessment, compliance and purchasing, increasing the length of the procurement process.

For many businesses, there is also an issue over internal culture, where technology is viewed in more traditional terms, to which cloud services do not conform. In comparison, medium-sized organisations tend to have some in-house knowledge and skills; they also tend to have less bureaucracy to slow them down than larger organisations. It is these factors that I see as accounting for their faster rates of adoption.

Claranet’s research also identified the type of ‘cloud’ that organisations are procuring to deliver their cloud services. It found that 79 percent of cloud models used are either hybrid or private, with only 15 percent of those polled using public cloud and just 2 percent using a community cloud model.

Michel continues: There is a strong preference for either hybrid or private cloud models in the majority of infrastructure or application areas. This is primarily because IT decision-makers view these models as lower-risk than other forms of cloud services and means that they can keep greater control over their applications and data. We have found that this offers a greater ability to control the perceived risks in using cloud services, making it a more attractive proposition.

The results also indicated a high-level of understanding amongst respondents about the importance of the network in delivering cloud services. 81 percent believe that it is crucial to ensure robustness of the network infrastructure to guarantee availability and performance. There is also agreement (61 percent) that without optimising the network for delivery of cloud services, the performance of applications will be reduced.

Clearly for those that are adopting a cloud service, there is a good knowledge of why the network capability is central in the delivery of an effective cloud package. Interestingly, 33 per cent of IT decision-makers view end-to-end accountability in combining both service and delivery of a cloud and network as the greatest benefit. This highlights the need for integrated cloud/network services as the market matures its cloud-based offering. Michel concludes.