Verizon Releases New Cloud Compute and Storage Offerings
3 min read
Verizon is in the process of rebooting its cloud services in the hope of catching up to other cloud companies. The new services consist of Verizon Cloud Compute and Verizon Cloud Storage and may replace their Enterprise Cloud. A few fortunate companies will have early access to the new Cloud Service. Having acquired Terremark and CloudSwitch in 2011, the new services may be a good mix of cloud technologies that would give Microsoft, Amazon and Google a hard time.
The telecommunication giant will enter the cloud storage market behind well established companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Oracle. The company claims that their services will offer more control which will make them better than other cloud solutions. According to what Verizon spokesmen say on the internet, the cloud will be targeted at enterprises that require fine-tuned control for critical applications.
A Verizon’s spokesperson spoke to VentureBeat about the new cloud storage service and stated that it was designed specifically to allow enterprises to control it for better performance and virtual machine provisioning. Verizon cloud provides enterprise-grade managed security services with global cloud data centers to create a secure environment for enterprises. The spokesman claimed that there is none in the market currently that offers such combinations, which is why enterprises would prefer Verizon Cloud Storage over others. Cloud companies don’t usually mix two or three services in one bundle.
Users do not need to choose from pre-set virtual machine configurations that most cloud services present today. They can simply request the amount of memory, storage capacity and compute that are required by them. Users only pay for what they use and this helps keep the cloud service consistent. Consistency is required for running and managing critical applications. Users also avoid paying for what they will never use.
Verizon already has a product out in the market called Enterprise Cloud. This particular cloud relies on the VMware virtualization. The new service will be based on proprietary technology. The technology used in the new offering mainly come from Terremark, a cloud technologies company. Verizon acquired Terremark in 2011 and CloudSwtich the same year. Verizon could then integrate multi-hypervisor technology into its cloud service.
A custom eCloud API which is Verizon’s own work is only supported for now. The company does plan to make their service compatible with Amazon Web Services and CloudStack in the future. Whether the integration will improve performance is still a mystery.
Verizon claims that their cloud service will be very secure and will have strong encryption. The company didn’t tell how much access will be given to the U.S government. If a user wants to keep things away from government, it is recommended that he/she waits until they reveal more about it.
Engine Yard is one of the companies that are already using the Verizon Cloud. These companies have early access to the promising new cloud service. The cloud service will be available as a beta by the end of this year. An exact price has not been released by Verizon yet.
