(Source: MARKETWIRE)Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and EMC, together with VMware, today introduced the Virtual Computing Environment coalition, an unprecedented collaboration of three information technology (IT) industry leaders. The coalition has been created to accelerate customers' ability to increase business agility through greater IT infrastructure flexibility, and lower IT, energy and real estate costs through pervasive data center virtualization and a transition to private cloud infrastructures.

Cisco, EMC and VMware have worked closely over the past year on a shared vision for the future of enterprise IT infrastructure -- private cloud computing. A private cloud is a virtual IT infrastructure that is securely controlled and operated solely for one organization. It can be managed either by that organization or a third party, and it can exist on or off premises or in combination. Private cloud computing offers the controls and security of today's data center with the agility required for business innovation at substantially lower costs.

Worldwide spending on data center technology infrastructure and services exceeds $350 billion(1) annually, according to McKinsey and Company estimates, with half of that spent on capital expenses (products) and half on operating expenses (services and labor). Further, an estimated 70 percent(2) or more of those costs are expended to maintain existing infrastructures, leaving 30 percent or less for new technology initiatives and applications that can provide breakthrough differentiation for businesses. It is also estimated that approximately $85 billion(3), or 20% of this total market, can be addressed with data center virtualization and private cloud technology by 2015.

The Virtual Computing Environment coalition offers organizations of all sizes an accelerated approach to data center transformation with dramatic efficiencies that promise significant reductions in both capital and operating expenses. As a result, organizations will no longer have to choose between best-of-breed technologies and end-to-end vendor accountability.

With the introduction of Vblock(TM) Infrastructure Packages, the Virtual Computing Environment coalition will provide customers with a fundamentally better approach to streamlining and optimizing IT strategies around private clouds. Vblock Infrastructure Packages are fully integrated, tested, validated, and ready-to-go/ready-to-grow infrastructure packages that combine best-in-class virtualization, networking, computing, storage, security, and management technologies from Cisco, EMC and VMware with end-to-end vendor accountability.

The coalition will scale customer adoption of Vblock systems by enabling a global community of systems integrators, service providers, channel partners, and independent software vendors (ISVs). The coalition has also established unified presales, professional services and support capabilities to simplify customer engagement.

In unveiling the Virtual Computing Environment coalition, Cisco and EMC also introduced Acadia, a joint venture focused on accelerating customer build-outs of private cloud infrastructures through an end-to-end enablement of service providers and large enterprise customers. Acadia's unique "build, operate, transfer" model for delivering the Vblock architecture, addressing people, process and technology, will offer customers further choice, flexibility and cost advantages as they seek to virtualize their IT infrastructures and evolve to private cloud environments. In addition to Cisco and EMC as the lead investors, the build-out of Acadia's expanded capabilities in 2010 has also been capitalized by investments from VMware and Intel. Because the Vblock architecture relies heavily on Intel Xeon(R) processors and other Intel data center technology, Intel will join the Acadia effort as a minority investor to facilitate and accelerate customer adoption of the latest Intel technology for servers, storage, and networking.

ANNOUNCEMENT DETAILS:

1. First Offering: Vblock Infrastructure Packages

--  The Virtual Computing Environment coalition today introduced Vblock
Infrastructure Packages to accelerate the virtualization of IT
infrastructures by minimizing risk, complexity and time to benefit.

--  Vblock Infrastructure Packages are validated platforms of engineered,
integrated IT infrastructure from Cisco, EMC and VMware, that deliver a
breakthrough total cost of ownership and pervasive virtualization at a
scale to meet today's most demanding use cases. 

--  Vblock Infrastructure Packages can be easily scaled with additional
compute and storage capability after purchase, a key differentiator versus
today's monolithic IT systems. 

--  Vblock Infrastructure Packages can be extended by complementary systems
integrators, service providers, channel partners, and ISVs. 

--  Early customer trials of Vblock Infrastructure Packages have delivered
up to 40 percent reductions in the cost of operating and managing
virtualized data center infrastructures. 

--  The following family of Vblock Infrastructure Packages is being offered
by the Virtual Computing Environment coalition: 

--  Vblock 2 is a high-end configuration supporting up to 3,000-6,000
virtual machines that is completely extensible to meet the most demanding
IT needs of large enterprises and service providers. Designed for
large-scale and 'green field' virtualization, Vblock 2 takes advantage of
Cisco's Unified Computing System (UCS), Nexus 1000v and Multilayer
Directional Switches (MDS), EMC's Symmetrix V-Max storage (secured by RSA),
and the VMware vSphere platform. 

--  Vblock 1 is a mid-sized configuration supporting 800 up to 3,000
virtual machines to deliver a broad range of IT capabilities to
organizations of all sizes. Designed for consolidation and optimization
initiatives, Vblock 1 is comprised of a repeatable model leveraging Cisco's
UCS, Nexus 1000v and MDS, EMC's CLARiiON storage (secured by RSA), and the
VMware vSphere platform. 

--  Vblock 0 will be an entry-level configuration available in 2010,
supporting 300 up to 800 virtual machines, for the first time bringing the
benefits of private clouds within reach of medium-sized businesses, small
data centers or organizations, and for test and development by channel
partners, systems integrators, service providers, ISVs, and customers.
Vblock 0 is also comprised of a repeatable model leveraging Cisco's UCS and
Nexus 1000v, EMC's Unified Storage (secured by RSA), and the VMware vSphere
platform.