IT Process Institute and CA Technologies Co-Author New Book on Building and Operating Private Clouds

IT Process Institute and CA Technologies Co-Author New Book on Building and Operating Private Clouds

"Visible Operations Private Cloud: From Virtualization to Private Cloud in 4 Practical Steps” is available now from the IT Process Institute and Amazon.com

EUGENE, Ore. and ISLANDIA, N.Y., April 12, 2011 – The IT Process Institute and CA Technologies today announced a new book: Visible Operations Private Cloud: From Virtualization to Private Cloud in 4 Practical Steps. The book presents a four-phased approach for managing the development and rollout of a private cloud. It was written with and created for enterprise IT executives and data center managers who are responsible for the success of private cloud initiatives.

The book, authored by Kurt Milne, director of the IT Process Institute (ITPI); Andi Mann, vice president of product marketing, CA Technologies; and Jeanne Morain, director of strategic alliances, cloud & virtualization, Flexera Software; is based on the study of enterprise IT organizations that have implemented private cloud solutions. It includes ITPI’s in-depth analysis of the key competencies these organizations have in common. It is also grounded by the authors’ more than 60 years of combined experience in systems management, virtualization, and IT process management.

The authors identified private cloud key competencies through surveys and interviews with CIOs, vice presidents of engineering and operations, architects, and IT engineering and operations managers. These IT professionals represent leading global technology, financial services, and telecommunications firms, among others. Their private cloud projects range from mid-sized deployments to large-scale private clouds that encompass thousands of servers.

The authors’ research, which is based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis of what works, recommends the following four steps to achieving an efficient and effective private cloud:

· Phase 1 – Cut through the cloud clutter: plan and communicate objectives, manage initial proof of concept efforts, and develop competency roadmaps.

· Phase 2 – Design services, not systems: design business optimized cloud services, enable one-touch service ordering, and implement a repeatable approach for build and deploy.

· Phase 3 – Orchestrate and optimize resources: update monitoring and alerting, deploy a policy engine to codify response, automate resource changes and workload moves.

· Phase 4 – Align and accelerate business results: complete transition to a resource rental model, reshape consumption behavior, and streamline response to changing business needs.

"Private cloud computing is a compelling next step toward leveraging investment in virtualization technology.But more importantly, it increases IT’s responsiveness and strategic value to the business,” said Kurt Milne. "We wrote this book to help cut through the cloud clutter, and share the lessons of top-performing IT organizations that have gone the farthest with private cloud.”

"Whether readers are trying to formulate an initial private cloud strategy or refine a current one, Visible Ops Private Cloud will help them get it right the first time,” said Andi Mann. "The book explains the key people, process, and technology competencies and focus areas necessary for successful private cloud deployments.”

"Although our opinions are interesting – they are not as relevant as all the contributors currently implementing Cloud environments in production”, said Jeanne Morain. "What sets this apart from other pieces are the numerous examples, lessons learned, and prescriptive guidance – for implementers by implementers.”

Visible Operations Private Cloud: From Virtualization to Private Cloud in 4 Practical Steps is the third in a series of Visible Ops books from ITPI. It is currently available worldwide from the IT Process Institute and Amazon.com. A summary of the book is available at www.ca.com/visibleopsprivatecloud.

The authors will present Private Cloud Journey Made Easy: 4 Step Prescriptive Guidance on April 21, during Cloud Slam ’11, the cloud computing virtual conference.

About CA Technologies
CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA) is an IT management software and solutions company with expertise across all IT environments – from mainframe and distributed, to virtual and cloud. CA Technologies manages and secures IT environments and enables customers to deliver more flexible IT services. CA Technologies innovative products and services provide the insight and control essential for IT organizations to power business agility. The majority of the Global Fortune 500 relies on CA Technologies to manage evolving IT ecosystems. For additional information, visit CA Technologies at www.ca.com.