Today CSC (Computer Sciences Corp.) announced its next step in a company-wide commitment to cloud computing. CSC has a strong set of enterprise systems integration and mission-critical security capabilities, and their announcement is sure to grab attention from both potential and existing customers. So exactly what is CSC announcing? A whole family of new cloud-based offerings, including "cloud orchestration services," "trusted cloud services," and a consulting group led by R. Lemuel Lasher.
This is pretty straightforward stuff. Cloud orchestration services is services integration, trusted cloud services is a portfolio of desktop, computing, storage, and network infrastructure services available on demand on a just-in-time basis, and well, the consulting explains itself. I was able to get a few minutes with Brian Boruff, CSC's vice president of cloud computing and software services.
[ CSC faces competition from the likes of Amazon, which is beefing up EC2 with new enterprise-appealing tools | Also, keep up on the latest in cloud developments with InfoWorld's Cloud Computing newsletter and Cloud Computing channel. ]
whurley: These services seem like they would be second nature to a company like CSC. Why did you wait so long to create this service offering?
Boruff: We wanted to make sure we had the right partner alliances and infrastructure (like telemarketing resources) in order to support something like this. I was recruited from Microsoft to lead CSC into the cloud computing space, and I've only been on board for four months, so it just took some time to get everything ready for launch.
whurley: What advantage do you see your company's mission-critical security capabilities giving you over competing offerings?
Boruff: Many clients we talk to aren't willing to put mission-critical information and regulatory compliance data in a public cloud. They want a trusted cloud service that gives them an SLA, security, data monitoring, and other services that provide visibility and transparency. CSC's 1,600-person Global Security Solutions (GSS) team is very involved in our cloud computing initiative and are planning to move many of its managed security services into a trusted cloud service. We also feel our global datacenter footprint positions CSC in a very competitive way against others.
whurley: What role does CSC's Leading Edge Forum play in this offering moving forward?
