This pioneering initiative will offer cloud service consumers a transparent view of the technologies that comprise and power CSP infrastructures before they purchase services or instances.
The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) sector is projected to grow by 41% through 2016. This, coupled with the continued increase in outsourcing of IT services, will make the technologies that power cloud-based applications and services more important than ever. CSPs participating in Intel's new program will receive the "Powered by Intel® Cloud Technology" badge to distinguish their Intel-based instances, transparently revealing the performance and security features of the underlying hardware to the end user.
The Intel Cloud Technology program stems from the collaboration that Intel announced last September with Amazon Web Services* (AWS), in order to communicate to consumers the specifications, performance, quality and security advantages of the Intel technologies used in AWS instances.
According to several studies, heterogeneous cloud infrastructure environments can differ in performance by 40% to 60%.<sup>4</sup> Therefore, end users are increasingly interested in learning more about the performance, capabilities, and cost-effectiveness of Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) to obtain the appropriate size and performance level for their workloads.
In addition to Virtustream (USA), the following companies have joined the program: Canopy*, an ATOS* company (UK); Cloud4com* (Czech Republic); CloudWatt* (France); Expedient* (USA); KIO Networks* (Mexico); KT* (South Korea); Locaweb* (Brazil); NxtGen* (India); Online.net* (France); OVH* (France); Rackspace* (USA); and Savvis*, a CenturyLink* company (USA). Selectel* (Russia) and UOLDIVEO*/UOLhost* (Brazil).
Key takeaways from the program: when every second counts.
Even the smallest change in cloud instance performance can impact e-commerce sales. For example, Shopzilla* saw its revenue increase by 12% after accelerating its page load times, reducing them from 7 to 2 seconds.<sup>5</sup> Therefore, CSPs participating in the Intel® Cloud Technology program can offer detailed information about their available CPU solutions, hardware acceleration features, storage, software, and networking capabilities to their enterprise and IT customers considering hybrid or public cloud services, as all these factors will have a significant impact on applications, costs, and user experiences.
CSPs will promote the benefits of Intel cloud technologies for user services through various channels. The opportunities Intel provides to participating CSPs will enable them to significantly improve application performance and end-user security. These technologies include Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX), Intel® Data Protection Technology with Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (AES-NI), and Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT).
In addition, Intel will conduct direct marketing campaigns and participate in joint marketing activities with program-affiliated CSPs to inform customers about the technologies used, their impact on application performance, user experiences, and ultimately, their businesses. By understanding the capabilities of their services, cloud users can make better decisions, which in turn can result in significant savings.
For example, Novartis Pharmaceuticals* conducted a comprehensive analysis of its instances. After comparing different instances with the company's specific work requirements, the study revealed that choosing the highest-performing instances would represent savings of up to 65%² compared to the lowest-cost, lowest-performing options. Furthermore, it allowed the company to significantly reduce processing time, resulting in shorter project turnaround times.
“Rackspace has customers all over the world who rely on us to meet their cloud infrastructure needs,” says Rajeev Shrivastava, vice president of product marketing at Rackspace. “Our participation in the Intel Cloud Technology program strengthens our ability to offer a broader spectrum of hybrid cloud solutions to optimize application performance and helps ensure that current and prospective Rackspace customers can deploy their most vital services on clouds built using best-in-class technologies.”
Intel® Cloud Finder helps prospective customers find the right CSP for their needs.
This tool, Intel® Cloud Finder, helps users avoid the complexity of finding the optimal cloud service by providing key insights and comparisons among more than 50 CSPs based on 80 possible customer requirements. This tool will be integrated into the Intel® Cloud Technology program. A new feature will allow end users to select a "trial" option for these services. The ability to try these services before purchasing will allow IT managers responsible for the purchase to better understand the technologies behind each solution, ensuring that the chosen services perfectly suit their workload before finalizing the purchase.
