Technology solutions firm CSC has launch ts BizCloud product in the UK.
BizCloud is a private cloud solution bought pre-configured and pre-tested, giving it that "cloud-in-a-box" feel for users.
It is built on CSC's own Cloud Compute infrastructure as a service (IaaS), which is based on Vblocks the joint venture of VMware's software, Cisco's security and servers and EMC's storage and management tools.
However, unlike most private cloud offerings, BizCloud can be paid for via a public cloud "as a service" model, whereby customers only stump up the cash for what they use, have the choice of different service level agreements (SLAs) and gain the flexibility to scale up or down when needed.
"For enterprises, it has been difficult to obtain the economic benefits of a public cloud which is delivered to them as a private cloud," said Robert Mahowald, vice president of SaaS and cloud services at IDC.
"CSC has been very strategic with this announcement. They engaged customers in a discussion about their business needs and developed a flexible solution that addresses those needs spot on."
Although mission-critical applications can remain safely behind a business' firewall, CSC gives a hybrid option for BizCloud, allowing companies to move the likes of disaster recovery or backup out to its public cloud datacentres, as they are also based on Cloud Compute.
"BizCloud and CloudCompute provide the centrepiece of the modern virtualised datacentre," said Siki Giunta, vice president of cloud computing and software services at CSC.
"There is a model for every organisation whether you want self-managed or a managed service option, or you want private, public or a hybrid cloud, CSC is following through on our promise of delivering the right cloud, the right way."
The service comes in three guises standard, enterprise and enterprise plus with four service levels to choose from. CSC claims to provide 99 to 99.95 per cent uptime for the standard rate card prices.
Both BizCloud and Cloud Compute services are available immediately in the UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
