Software Licensing Featured Articles

EMC Building Cloud Presence

By Maurice Nagle, TMCnet Web Editor

Long before we learned of Gordon Gecko and the corporate takeover businesses have been merging, whether through amiable negotiations or hostile takeover this has been a piece of the enterprise from its inception. Today, solution providers participate in these ‘Wheelings & Dealings’ not to simply better the firm overall but to improve offerings to other businesses and the public at large.

Recently, the software licensing world saw a major player take a big leap into the cloud. EMC (News - Alert) is set to acquire Virtustream to create EMC’s Managed Cloud Services Business, which would not just provide the self-proclaimed most comprehensive hybrid cloud portfolio but a means to sell software licenses.

“Virtustream is an exceptional company and this is a critical and transformative acquisition for EMC in one of the industry’s fastest-growing and most important sectors,” said EMC Chairman and CEO Joe Tucci. “With Virtustream in place, EMC will be uniquely positioned as a single source for our customers’ entire hybrid cloud infrastructure and services needs. We could not be more delighted that Virtustream will be joining the EMC Federation family. It’s a game changer.”

This acquisition means that EMC Federation service provider partners gain access to Virtustream’s xStream cloud management software platform and create its own branded services for it. Virtustream already boasts the moniker of being one of the world’s fastest growing cloud software and service companies, its cloud software and Infrastructure as a Service portfolio create a lot of potential for the acquisition.

“Virtustream has established itself as an industry leader and innovator for running mission-critical enterprise applications in the cloud,” explained Rodney Rogers (News - Alert), Virtustream Chairman and CEO. “We’re proud to be joining the EMC Federation where our combined capabilities, products and services will allow us to accelerate our vision of delivering the platform of record for enterprise systems, and address the complete breadth of cloud computing needs.”

The cloud is a force to be reckoned with moving forward. The ease of software licensing, deployment and cost make it an extremely attractive sand box to play in. And, as a point of interest, Virtustream is one of the only independent companies to be named in Gartner’s (News - Alert) magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service as well as being named a “Leader” in the hosted private cloud solutions market.

As a boy, I once had a baseball coach that would always say, “Gotta swing to ding! You can’t hit anything if the bat is on your shoulder!” With this move EMC is swinging for the fences; and, who doesn’t love the long ball?