25 Nov 2008

Cloud computing 'depends on virtualisation'

Virtualisation is required for the successful rollout of cloud computing technology, an expert has suggested.

Peter Nickolov, president at 3tera, hailed the important role of virtualisation after noting that more vendors are set to offer cloud services over the next five months as new, high-profile applications are made available on the market, reports InfoWorld.

His comments come from the Cloud Computing Conference and Expo event in San Jose, California, on Friday, where Mr Nickolov appeared as a panellist.

Cloud computing relies on the role of virtualisation in separating applications from underlying infrastructures, commented Steve Herrod of VMware.

"I don't think that cloud computing would be possible without virtualisation," Mr Nickolov added.

Rackspace senior architect Erik Carlin told the conference that a recent survey showed that security is the main concern about cloud computing among chief information officers.

But Mr Nickolov believes that although security concerns are an interesting factor, these issues can be resolved.

According to a Kings Research survey reported by Network World, some 85 per cent of medium-sized businesses are planning to adopt some type of virtualisation technology over the next year.