From virtualisation to private cloud

So what is a private cloud in this context? The answer is not so clearcut. Some argue that it is a set of computing resources - networking, storage and raw compute - that an organisation can draw on at will.

The thing to remember is that if a virtual machine is to have complete freedom to move around the data centre, it is not just the server configuration that changes: the storage, network policies and security polices need to move too.

But as Mark Bowker, an analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group, has pointed out, none of the vendors, including the major ones just as VMware, Citrix and Microsoft, are clear as to what a private cloud is, even though they are united in their view of virtualisation research as its bedrock.

This IDG Technology Services results looks at how CIOs and IT leaders recognize the business impact of application performance.