CA touts flexibility with rollout of private cloud platforms

CA is making a pitch for the cloud computing space with a series of platforms and services aimed at helping enterprises migrate to private cloud systems.

AppLogic 3.0 is aimed at companies looking to migrate to new cloud systems, and is based on software CA acquired with its 2010 purchase of 3Tera. AppLogic allows administrators to configure and deploy virtualised systems.

Version 3.0 adds support for VMware, giving an additional option beyond Xen, the firm said. CA believes that the option will extend the AppLogic platform further into the business space where many companies rely on VMware.

CA's Automation Suite for Clouds 1.0, meanwhile, is designed for companies looking for a more gradual transition.

Brandon Whichard, CA director of product marketing for virtualisation and automation, told V3 that the Automation Suite for Clouds allows companies to repurpose traditional IT hardware for use as a private cloud system.

The suite provides software, reference architectures and projects which allow hardware to be pooled and configured for use as a private cloud deployment.

"It is focused on taking traditional IT infrastructure and allowing customers to pull it together," Whichard said. "It allows you to repurpose that infrasctructure."

Once the cloud infrastructure is deployed, a third CA platform allows companies to monitor and manage virtual machines.

Virtual Placement Manager provides snapshots and analysis of virtualised systems, and offers planning and analytical tools to map out future challenges.

CA hopes that the new platforms will differentiate through flexibility and compatitbility. Rather than focus on a single platform or approach, the company is looking to support a number of platform-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service formats.

"CA has been successful by embracing the complexity and the heterogeneous nature of IT," said Whichard. "It is not going to be a world of just VMware, and it is not going to be a world of just Cisco UCS or just HP."