Chip making giant Intel Corp. introduced a first of its kind channel badge called “Powered by Intel Cloud Technology”.
The new program is expected to identify the underlying technology and benefits of cloud solution providers to customers and has already been award to 16 companies. Another initiative from Intel is Cloud Finder, an online search engine that enables users to find cloud partners and cloud services built on Intel technologies that match required criteria. This service will be a free before purchase trial offer, according to Intel.
The strategy behind this from Intel is to help IT organizations make better, more informed purchasing decisions and ensure optimal performance for their cloud applications.
Intel predicts infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) revenue to increase by 41 per cent annually by 2016. Cloud solution providers participating in the new program will be recognized by using the badge to distinguish their Intel-based instances where the performance and security capabilities of the underlying hardware become transparent to the end user.
The Intel Cloud Technology program builds on the collaboration announced last September between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Intel and Jason Waxman, vice president, data centre group and GM of the Cloud Platform Group at Intel, said the type of engine that runs a cloud service dramatically affects performance and efficiency. “Cloud customers want to know what technology their applications are running on because it has direct impact to their business. For the first time, users will have the transparency to select the technologies that are optimal for running their applications in the cloud,” he added.
There are currently no Canadian companies in the program as of yet. The 16 companies working with Intel are: Virtustream, Canopy, an ATOS* company, Cloud4com in the Czech Republic; CloudWatt in France, Expedient, KIO Networks of Mexico; KT from South Korea, Locaweb of Brazil, NxtGen of India, Online.net of France, OVH of France, Rackspace, Savvis, a company of CenturyLink, Selectel in Russia, and UOLDIVEO of Brazil.
In addition, Intel will drive direct marketing campaigns and participate in co-marketing activities with cloud partners in the program to educate customers about underlying technologies, their impact on applications performance, user experience and ultimately the business.