Open Data Center Alliance Identifies Priorities for Driving VM Interoperability in the Enterprise Cloud

PORTLAND, Ore., April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA), a global member-led organization where hundreds of enterprise IT organizations are working together to drive broad scale requirements for the enterprise ready cloud, today announced the release of a new POC (proof-of-concept) paper developed to determine where the virtual machine (VM) industry currently is in meeting interoperability requirements outlined in the ODCA VM interoperability usage model. The paper overviews procedures and results from recent ODCA VM interoperability testing and identifies priorities and gaps that hypervisor and VM solution providers need to address in order to move VM interoperability between public and private enterprise clouds forward.  ODCA will hold a June 17 panel at Forecast 2013 where testing results outlined in the POC will be discussed and steps for addressing the current gaps in VM interoperability will be developed. All Forecast 2013 attendees are invited to attend this panel event.

"The ODCA VM interoperability usage model has been adopted by many of our member companies as a core foundation for implementing their enterprise ready clouds and has been extremely instrumental in shaping new solutions from VM vendors," said Ryan Skipp, Portfolio and Solution Development at DTAG/T-Systems and Chair of the ODCA Manageability and Services Workgroup. "The POC paper released today is important because it clearly illustrates what industry needs to do next to advance interoperability based on ODCA VM interoperability requirements. Forecast 2013 is the perfect venue to bring hypervisor and VM solution providers together with industry to collaboratively address these pressing issues."

The Implementing the Open Data Center Alliance Virtual Machine Interoperability Usage Model

POC released today was developed within the ODCA Manageability and Services Workgroup and includes specifications for interoperability developed by DMTF, an ODCA partner organization. The POC outlines testing criteria and procedures for documenting how hypervisor and VM solutions from both ODCA members and non-members interoperated in real-world enterprise cloud scenarios. The paper proves that interoperability based on ODCA VM interoperability usage model requirements is possible and includes guidance on steps that need to be taken by hypervisor platform and VM providers to help ensure interoperability in the enterprise ready cloud is achieved.  ODCA will update testing procedures and announce future testing results on a regular basis. The paper is available for download on the ODCA website.

Virtual Machine Interoperability Panel Announced at Forecast 2013
The ODCA VM interoperability panel will take place on June 17, the first day of the two-day Forecast 2013 conference. The panel will be moderated by industry analyst Paul Miller, and will include participants from ODCA membership and the hypervisor and VM communities. The complete Forecast 2013 agenda is available on the Forecast 2013 website.

"True interoperability of hypervisor and virtual machine solutions between clouds is critical to advancing enterprise ready cloud implementations," said Marvin Wheeler, executive director, Open Data Center Alliance. "We encourage global IT managers and cloud solution and service providers to join us at the Forecast 2013 VM interoperability panel on June 17 to take part in the collaborative discussions that will help drive the next phase of VM interoperability in the enterprise cloud."

Forecast 2013: Delivering the enterprise ready cloud
Forecast 2013 is ODCA's premier cloud and big data event taking place in San Francisco on June 17 and 18 in conjunction with GigaOM Structure. Forecast features sessions and panels focused on top of mind issues associated with cloud deployment, including compute infrastructure as a service (CIaaS), infrastructure as a service (Iaas), software defined networks (SDN), cloud interoperability and cloud security. The event provides a unique opportunity for participants to engage with their peers on best practices for adoption of enterprise ready cloud implementations and to learn about the latest ODCA usage models from ODCA leadership.

Harper Reed, Obama Campaign CTO, is the Forecast 2013 luminary speaker who is expected to discuss his extensive experience in developing and managing successful cloud and big data implementations, his views on the current state of the cloud and data management, and his passion for building paradigm-shifting technologies. Reed joins Mario Mueller, BMW's Vice President of IT Infrastructure and Chair of the Open Data Center Alliance, and the Forecast 2013 keynote speaker.  Mueller will discuss how BMW has adopted ODCA requirements to implement its cloud strategy. More information about speakers, sponsors and registration is available on the Forecast 2013 website. Early-bird registration ends on April 30.

About The Open Data Center Alliance
The Open Data Center Alliance^SM is an independent IT consortium comprised of global IT leaders who have come together to provide a unified customer vision for long-term data center requirements. The Alliance is led by a twelve member steering committee which includes IT leaders BMW, Capgemini, China Unicom, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Lockheed Martin, Marriott International, Inc., National Australia Bank, NTT Data, T-Systems, Terremark, Disney Technology Solutions and Services, and UBS. Intel serves as technical advisor to the Alliance. More information about Alliance publications and membership can be found at the organization's website: www.opendatacenteralliance.org, and on Facebook, LinkedIn, Slideshare, Twitter, and YouTube.

In support of its mission, the Alliance has delivered the first customer requirements for cloud computing and big data documented in Open Data Center Usage Models which identify member prioritized requirements to resolve the most pressing challenges facing cloud adoption. Find out more at www.opendatacenteralliance.org. 

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Russ DeVeau
Open Data Center Alliance
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SOURCE Open Data Center Alliance