Verizon’s CloudSwitch purchase targets the hybrid cloud

Verizon today announced that it has acquired cloud services software developer CloudSwitch—a move the carrier hopes will provide an edge in the vaunted hybrid cloud market.

CloudSwitch has a “unique capability” that “will really accelerate cloud adoption,” said Chris Gesell, chief innovation and strategy officer for Verizon’s Terremark data center business, in an interview. CloudSwitch, Gesell said, “provides simplicity, security and flexibility for how enterprises consume cloud [services].”

Gesell also cited CloudSwitch’s software development capabilities as a key asset, noting that “as we continue to invest [in the cloud], we believe we will need software development capabilities as these are software-enabled services.”

The CloudSwitch business will operate within the Terremark business unit (CP: Verizon to keep Terremark name for data center business).

CloudSwitch’s secret sauce

CloudSwitch is focused on enterprises that want to use cloud computing for capacity on demand, explained CloudSwitch Co-Founder Ellen Rubin. A typical application might be a web site that needs bursting capability to meet shifts in demand, she said.

Enterprises often are wary of moving applications out of their own data center because of security concerns and concerns about being locked in to a particular cloud provider. “If they want to migrate an existing application, they might have to re-architect and re-build it from scratch for a particular cloud,” said Rubin.

Rubin described the CloudSwitch offering as a “virtual machine” or software which is installed in an enterprise’s data center. It doesn’t require professional services but instead enables companies within 20 minutes to be up and running, she said. Enterprises will be able to use point-and-click functionality to move applications to the Terremark cloud.

“Behind the scenes we automate to make sure the application looks the same as what they would have been running inside the data center,” Rubin said. “The application can be run the way it was before with no changes. We provide total encryption of all data and communications.”

The CloudSwitch software also can be used to move an application across clouds or to use multiple clouds at the same time, Rubin said.

Verizon has not yet determined whether it will continue to use the CloudSwitch name. The purchase