Cisco's Unified Computing System Selected as Cloud Computing Solution for C&W Worldwide

Cisco's Unified Computing System has been selected by Cable&Wireless Worldwide as its next-generation data center platform to deliver an enterprise cloud computing solution held within the Wide Area Network (WAN).

Accessed through C&W Worldwide's next-generation network, the system is specifically designed to facilitate the security, compliance, control and availability requirements of enterprises. Initially available for customer pilots, the full solution will be launched later this year.

"Cloud computing is arguably the most significant change happening in the operating and cost model for IT infrastructures and so far enterprises have been unable to take advantage of the agility it can provide,” said Tom Stockwell, business manager at C&W Worldwide, in a statement.

Stockwell said that this collaboration with Cisco (News - Alert) will help large organizations and multinational companies evolve and virtualize while addressing concerns around service levels, security, management and compliance."

According to company officials, by combining dedicated virtualized environments with enterprise cloud computing, C&W Worldwide's customers will be able to make the most out of the cost and performance benefits it will offer for day-to-day operations and on a project-by-project basis.

Cloud computing can also help enterprise clients looking to extend or rationalize their IT infrastructure over time.

Company officials said that C&W Worldwide's cloud computing solution is an extension of its data center management and virtualized hosting services portfolio that is used by many enterprise and public sector customers.

Delivered on a virtualised platform across multiple UK data centers, it offers customers flexibility and control to create virtual computing systems for everyday operations and quickly scale up as and when they are needed to meet demanding timescales for new projects.

"We are working very closely with C&W Worldwide to offer 'on-demand' services for enterprises with Cisco's UCS platform as an integral part of the architecture,” said Wendy Mars, director of data cente and virtualization for European markets at Cisco.

Mars said that this strategic relationship enables enterprise customers to benefit from Cisco's UCS technology with its optimized performance for running virtual environments and C&W Worldwide's extensive experience at managing data centers and delivering managed hosting services.