Cisco, VMware, NetApp in cloud partnership

Cisco, VMware and NetApp have announced a three-way partnership and a new architecture for secure, multi-tenant cloud data centres, according to ZDNet.

The Secure Multi-tenancy Design Architecture (SMDA) works across existing products from the three companies to isolate the IT resources and applications of different clients or business units that share a common cloud infrastructure.

"The dynamic data centre is built on VMware vSphere, along with Cisco and NetApp technologies, to provide the foundation for both private and public clouds and the ability to move data and applications between these clouds," says VMware chief Paul Maritz.

Netezza has released Skimmer, an entry-level data warehouse appliance with a 10TB capacity costing $125 000, reports Information Week.

"We're seeing customers starting to graduate to the need for high-performance data warehousing and data analytics," says Phil Francisco, Netezza's vice-president of product management and marketing. "They are looking at vendors like Oracle and Teradata, and they are not finding solutions that they can afford."

Skimmer comes with preconfigured hardware and software. The hardware is based on Netezza's TwinFin architecture, which combines proprietary database accelerator cards with commodity blade servers and storage.

Cisco has said that for the next six months, its Cisco Capital subsidiary will extend three-year, 0% financing on qualified purchases of the vendor's products and services, states IT Channel Planet.

Company officials indicate the move is intended to ease buying concerns and spark demand from small to medium-sized enterprises.

The offer, which mirrors a similar package that Cisco is running in Europe, tenders 0% financing for 36 months on purchases of the vendor's entire line-up of hardware, software and services ranging from $1 000 to $250 000 made through 31 July this year.