CSC Takes a Balanced Approach to the Cloud

Event Summary

June 15, 2010 – CSC outlined its ongoing cloud services roadmap, announcing the opening of seven cloud-enabled data centers in the U.S., UK, Luxembourg and Australia. The data centers feature fully virtualized cloud fabric and multiple grades of services for public, private or hybrid cloud solutions. The company also introduced its new CSC Gateway online portal, which customers can use to order and provision services. The company’s roadmap details service options for mail, collaboration, security and virtual development and testing as software-, platform- and infrastructure-as-a-service.

Quick Take

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Moderate on CSC’s extension of its cloud services and capabilities (see “CSC’s Initials Could Soon Represent Cloud Services Computing,” February 3, 2009), because elements such as its self-service portal will significantly improve the customer experience by streamlining the ordering, provisioning and management of on-demand services. This, along with the availability of collaboration and test and development services, and the opening of seven new cloud-enabled data center facilities worldwide, will encourage the company’s enterprise customer base to enter the on-demand cloud services fray.

• Vendor Importance: Moderate to CSC, because the company needed to demonstrate it is delivering on plans to create a full portfolio of secure on-demand services for a client base hungry for more cost-effective IT solutions (see “CSC Coordinates Its Cloud Services Campaign around Integration and Security,” June 3, 2009), but also wary of abandoning a more traditional approach to IT. CSC describes a ‘Business First’ consulting-led approach that advises customers to move only the workloads to the cloud that make economic, business and regulatory sense.

• Market Impact: Moderate on the managed IT services segment, because CSC is significantly building out its cloud services portfolio and delivery capabilities to position itself on the leading edge of the enterprise cloud market segment. Though the services on CSC’s roadmap won’t reshuffle the competitive deck in the cloud space, rival sales teams will certainly deal with customer and prospect questions about CSC..

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