EMC chief sets high hopes for private cloud

Joe Tucci is predicting a major shakeup in the IT industry

EMC World 2010: EMC chairman and chief executive Joe Tucci has said that the shift to cloud deployments could be the biggest change in his 40 years in the industry.

Tucci told delegates at EMC World 2010 that the cost benefits of cloud computing, combined with the growing stacks of data that need to be managed, could trigger a "seismic shift" from smaller, locally hosted datacentres to larger, more broadly based storage structures.

The move into the cloud will be the largest of the many "waves" of change in the IT business as the industry progressed from mainframes to mini-systems to desktops to the virtualised deployments of today, Tucci said.

EMC is seeking to position itself as a platform provider for storage clouds with its VPlex operating system.

Tucci said that EMC will forgo a traditional "verticalisation" model of looking to control all aspects IT management, and instead look to VPlex to manage one layer of the virtualised storage network and remain compatible with all products from EMC and its competitors.

"I have never seen a time more than now where customers are in the driver's seat," he said. "We are going to give you maximum efficiency, maximum choice and maximum control."

Tucci also suggested that VPlex could help to allay fears about cloud computing that continue to linger.

Tucci pointed to platforms such as VPlex as having the opportunity to redesign the operating system and avoid the need for "bolt-on" security solutions that affect older platforms.

"What we are seeing is that we are now building a new operating system," he explained. "And when you do that, we think we can build an environment that has more control."