VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, expanded its vision for modern IT infrastructures and announced six new products and services that help enterprises and service providers achieve the benefits of cloud computing while maintaining the control and freedom of choice they require.

IT as a Service is the transformation of IT to a more business-centric approach, focusing on outcomes such as operational efficiency, competitiveness and rapid response. This means IT shifts from producing IT services to optimizing production and consumption of those services in ways consistent with business requirements. This changes the role of IT from a cost center to a center of strategic value.

“Enterprises are embracing a new model of infrastructure to deliver IT as a Service through hybrid cloud computing,” said Raghu Raghuram, senior vice president and general manager, virtualization and cloud platforms, VMware. “The products and services we are launching today provide a comprehensive enterprise architecture that will deliver the agility and economics of the cloud with the security and quality of service our enterprise customers need.”

“We are excited about our new state-of-the-art cloud, based on open standards and robust, manageable software,” said Professor Greg Ganger of Carnegie Mellon University. “VMware cloud infrastructure solutions are helping us to transition to a new computing paradigm that provides greater agility, while also allowing us to study data intensive computing and security in a cloud environment.”

Building on the VMware vSphere™ foundation, VMware’s new cloud infrastructure products and services introduce a hybrid cloud model that seamlessly bridges private and public clouds:

VMware vCloud™ Director: A new model for delivering and consuming infrastructure services.

The VMware vShield™ product family: Better-than-physical security for VMware-virtualized and cloud environments. VMware vShield Edge, VMware vShield App, and VMware vShield Endpoint virtualize security and edge services, including firewall, VPN and load balancing, freeing them from the constraints of physical infrastructure and providing a single, adaptive and programmable security infrastructure. This eliminates the complexity and rigidity of traditional approaches, giving IT teams more visibility and control. When coupled with VMware’s partner solutions, VMware vShield delivers VMware-virtualized and cloud environments that are more secure than traditional, physical deployment models at a fraction of the cost.

VMware vCloud™ Datacenter Services: Secure, interoperable enterprise-class hybrid clouds delivered by leading service providers.

VMware vCloud™ Consulting Services: to help customers accelerate their journeys to the cloud, VMware’s vCloud Consulting Services include a complete portfolio of professional service offerings. Based on VMware’s experience helping enterprises and service providers build cloud architectures, VMware vCloud Consulting Services provide assessment, planning, design, and deployment services for IT infrastructure transformation. Leveraged by enterprises and vCloud service providers, vCloud Consulting Services provide a common blueprint for next-generation infrastructure.