Beyond Test and Development: What Virtualization Can Teach Us About the Next Phase of Cloud Computing

IT departments are increasingly subjecting applications to “cloud-first” scrutiny, similar to the “virtualization first” mandate that helped drive the majority of incremental workloads to virtualized environments. With this type of adoption stimulant in place, the opportunity for cloud providers to help facilitate the production era of cloud computing is there for the taking. This white paper traces the virtualization movement, examines the current trends in cloud computing, and considers implications for service providers who will have to address more stringent demands on mission- and business-critical applications.