Unisys sees a vision in the cloud

Unisys Corp. has unveiled a cloud-computing strategy and solutions portfolio for organizations seeking to move applications securely to tailored cloud environments.

Underpinning the strategy is the Unisys Stealth security solution, a data-protection technology designed for government applications and now available to businesses.

The technology cloaks data through multiple levels of authentication and encryption, bit-splitting it into multiple packets so it moves invisibly across networks and stays protected in Unisys’ secure cloud.

The company’s cloud-computing strategy lets organizations choose the type of data-center computing services that best meet their business objectives — from self-managed, automated IT infrastructures to Unisys-managed cloud services, said Rich Marcello, president of Unisys Systems and Technology.

There are four pieces to the Unisys cloud strategy. The first two are being announced today, Marcello said. They are:

• Cloud Transformation Services, a portfolio of advisory and implementation services that help organizations assess cloud-computing options and determine what style best suits their needs or financial objectives. Those services are available immediately.
• Secure Cloud Solution, a managed cloud service that provides comprehensive data security for multi-tenant environments in which users share a common IT infrastructure. The solution uses Stealth technology so companies and agencies can move existing business applications – including those with secure or sensitive data, such as human resources, finances and health care – into a managed, shared cloud service. There is no need to rewrite or alter applications. This service will be available July 31.

Unisys plans to release a cloud-in-a-box solution as a comprehensive IT infrastructure package so organizations can quickly implement a private cloud, Marcello said. That solution, which will be available in December, includes virtualization capabilities, automation of Information Technology Infrastructure Library best practices for service management, and Unisys Converged Remote Infrastructure Management capabilities, with Unisys Stealth solution as an option for extreme security.

Unisys also plans to deliver hybrid technologies in March 2010 that combine public and private cloud capabilities, Marcello said.

Cloud Transformation Services comprise three suites of services:

• Cloud Advisory Services, which guide users on the strategic implications that cloud computing might have for their businesses. The services help determine if cloud computing – whether a private cloud, a Unisys-managed secure cloud or a hybrid cloud – is an effective choice.
• Cloud Assessment Services, which help organizations determine which applications and services are best suited to cloud computing. The services also assess the financial impact on the user’s business of moving applications to the Unisys-managed secure cloud.
• Cloud Migration Services, which help IT personnel deploy applications to a Unisys-managed secure cloud, a user-managed internal cloud or both. For migration to a managed secure cloud, the services help users move the application workload and the data to the cloud without interruption. For internal clouds, users can determine the process optimization and cost improvements they can achieve by automating the IT infrastructure; plan and deploy the infrastructure; establish processes for IT service management; and determine critical ongoing requirements, such as storage modernization and disaster recovery.

The Secure Cloud Solution includes:

• Secure Infrastructure as a Service, for provisioning physical and virtual servers that scale out and up.
• Secure Platform as a Service, which provides a Java software stack – with planned Microsoft .NET and IBM WebSphere support – to make it easier for users to move their applications to the cloud without making changes.
• My Secure Application as a Service, for automatic provisioning of IT resources to support applications with multi-tier architectures.
• Secure Software as a Service (SaaS), which provides access to hosted applications.

There are three Secure SaaS offerings:

• Secure Hosted Communication and Collaboration Services for Microsoft Outlook, SharePoint and Office Communication Server.
• Secure Virtual Office as a Service for access to standard software suites that an organization’s employees use.
• Unisys Secure Document Delivery Solution, which enables secure electronic delivery of high-volume documents, such as statements and bills.

The Secure Cloud Solution can balance workloads across a global network of Unisys data centers, which are certified to key international standards such as ISO/IEC 27001:2005 for security, ISO/IEC 20000 for service management and the SAS 70 Type II auditing standard, Marcello said.

Unisys is still determining the pricing for the services, which will be subscription-based or on a pay-as-you-go basis, Marcello said.