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In April 2011, Dell announced to invest US$1 billion in the development of solutions, services and cloud-based delivery options, including the setting up of Dell Solution Centers around the world.

The Dell Solution Centers are technical labs with customer engagement capabilities, which give customers access to Dell technology and solutions experts. Dell’s cloud solutions such as Virtual Integrated System (VIS) or Advanced Infrastructure Manager are installed in the centers to allow both customers and the Dell team to get hands-on experience. 

“As part of the one billion investment plan, we are also building cloud data centers around the world to offer IT outsourcing and public cloud services,” said Ricky Chan (pictured), director of next generation of computing solutions & networking, enterprise solutions organization, China & Hong Kong, Dell.

According to Chan, Dell’s public cloud services will include compute and storage, virtual desktop, IT management service, and the recently launched Customer Business Applications -- a family of integrated SaaS applications with cross-application cloud analytics supported by Dell services for small and medium businesses.

In an interview with Asia Cloud Forum, Chan outlines the company’s deployment of cloud services for CITIC Telecom CPC, a Hong Kong-based communications solutions provider, the latest industry efforts made to drive open cloud adoption, and his three key predictions about cloud computing in 2012.

Ricky Chan: In 2011, we have helped many enterprises and service providers in launching their private or public cloud service across Asia, from government, service providers, enterprises, and Web 2.0 companies. One of the most successful cases was working with CITIC Telecom CPC in launching their SmartCloud cloud computing services in Asia Pacific.

The launch of SmartCloud brings together the perfect combination of CITIC Telecom CPC’s network, enterprise-grade data center facilities and security; as well as Dell’s cloud infrastructure, technologies and expertise, resulting in a portfolio of virtual infrastructure comprising two offerings: a virtual server solution branded SmartCloud Compute; and a set of email, calendaring and collaboration tools named SmartCloud M@il. 

Chan: In 2011, we do see a lot of attention to and adoption of OpenStack since its launch last year. Across Asia Pacific (including Japan), there are user groups like COSUG (China OpenStack User Group) formed to facilitate and promote the use of OpenStack as the software for powering the cloud. In parallel, the movement into Open Flow project for networking also indicates a clear trend in "Openness" as we transform legacy data center infrastructure into cloud.

Chan: 1) The industry is gaining momentum and maturity of understanding cloud computing.

2) Data privacy and general security of using cloud services will remain as concerns for consumers. However, there are many available best practices, tools, technology in the market to address these concerns adequately.

3) There will be an emerging emphasis of standards, governance and openness for building out cloud infrastructure, driven both by the industry and the government.