Novell has announced a new solution that enables customers to create and securely manage a cloud computing environment as a seamless extension of existing data centre resources.
Known as Novell Cloud Manager, it differs from competitive solutions that lock customers into proprietary technology stacks. It is designed for the heterogeneous reality of most IT environments, giving users the freedom and flexibility to create and manage private clouds, which support all leading hypervisors, operating systems and hardware platforms.
“The differentiator is that only Novell Cloud Manager lets IT administrators package, price and present IT services on-demand through a customisable interface,” says Michelle Beetar, managing director of Novell South Africa.
“With Novell Cloud Manager companies can build and securely manage cloud environments across all leading hypervisors, operating systems and hardware platforms. They can reap the benefits of the flexibility and cost savings of cloud computing without the security and compliance risks inherent in public clouds.”
In a recent survey of more than 200 IT professionals at large enterprises, 89% of respondents see private clouds as the next logical stop for organisations already using virtualisation, and 93% feel private cloud platforms should offer a management framework that can span a heterogeneous infrastructure. In addition, 91% of survey respondents note concern about the inherent security risks public clouds present. The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by Novell.
Built from the ground up as a cloud computing management platform, Novell Cloud Manager is one of the few cloud management products to offer a single, comprehensive console that all stakeholders - business unit leaders, application teams and IT management - can use to request, approve, manage and report on IT services across their entire infrastructure.
“Novell Cloud Manager is hypervisor-agnostic, a feature that is becoming more important as today's enterprises increasingly deploy a mix of hypervisors in their data centres,” says Beetar.
She adds that customers want to be able to securely manage cloud environments as a seamless extension of their existing data centre. “They're also looking for solutions that avoid vendor lock-in and interoperate across a broad range of technology stacks.”
To achieve this, Novell Cloud Manager has been optimised for the heterogeneous reality of most IT environments, delivering the promised flexibility and agility of cloud computing and providing the rich management capabilities IT administrators need.
As the latest product to be released from Novell's WorkloadIQ roadmap, Novell Cloud Manager is a major milestone in Novell's delivery of products to meet the growing demand for intelligent workload management solutions that help companies make use of their existing IT assets to realise the significant cost benefits offered by new models like virtualisation and cloud computing.
“Novell Cloud Manager also provides companies with the necessary tools to securely manage their IT services across organisational and geographical boundaries, and across physical, virtual, and cloud environments,” says Beetar.
Among the key benefits of Novell Cloud Manager are:
* Support for the industry's leading hypervisors and operating systems;
* Faster delivery of IT services with automated, on-demand workload provisioning;
* Control of virtual sprawl with cost visibility;
* Creates a secure and compliant environment; and
* Integrates with best-in-class security and business service management products.
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