Fujitsu Builds Japan's First Hybrid Cloud Platform Compliant with the Alliance Cloud

Tokyo, December 21, 2011

Fujitsu today announced that it recently built Japan's first hybrid cloud platform that uses the Alliance Cloud, a standardized cloud model certified by the Global Alliance for User-driven Cloud Computing⁽¹⁾. This private cloud platform, which was built for the Daiwa Institute of Research, Ltd., began operations in November 2011. It enables hybrid private cloud operation, simultaneously, at multiple datacenters. Fujitsu hopes to deliver new services and solutions based on this platform for the needs of the diversifying hybrid cloud and expanding private cloud market.

Background

Since May 2011, Fujitsu has participated as a hardware vendor in the standardized technology verification activities of the Global Alliance for User-driven Cloud Computing, in which the Daiwa Institute of Research is involved. Based on its verification experience, Fujitsu built at its Tatebayashi System Center a platform compliant with the Alliance Cloud that integrates Fujitsu's PRIMERGY x86 servers with its ETERNUS storage systems and other components.

With Fujitsu having built a platform that conforms to the Alliance Cloud at its Tatebayashi System Center, Daiwa Institute of Research then built a cloud platform with the identical specification⁽²⁾ in its own datacenter and connected the two platforms through a network, enabling the operation of a hybrid cloud. Going forward, Daiwa Institute of Research plans to use the two platforms for a variety of applications, such as a virtual desktop environment, to promote greater ICT resource efficiencies and optimization, minimize total cost of operations, and implement business continuity measures.

Features of the Hybrid Cloud Platform

1. First case study of the Alliance Cloud operated as a hybrid cloud

This is the first case study in which the Alliance Cloud has been used to build and operate a hybrid cloud platform.

The Global Alliance for User-driven Cloud Computing is promoting the standardization of cloud environments that can be used for even mission-critical systems. As part of these activities, it is performing verification of a variety of hardware and software combinations⁽³⁾ and certifying as standard models those system configurations that satisfy the set requirements for availability and reliability. As certified standard models can share resources with each other, linking one system to another system in a remote location or another company's datacenter enables flexible and efficient systems operations, including measures for dealing with disaster recovery.

2. Hybrid private cloud with flexibility and high scalability

Integrating high-quality servers, storage systems, and other components that are optimal for creating private cloud environments, Fujitsu built a new, highly reliable platform at its Tatebayashi System Center that is compliant with the Alliance Cloud, connected it to the platform running inside Daiwa Institute of Research's own datacenter, and thereby created a flexible and highly scalable hybrid platform.

With its sophisticated network technologies, highly reliable security features, and facilities built to withstand disasters, the Tatebayashi System Center will support Daiwa Institute of Research's business continuity planning measures.

3. Versatile and high-quality cloud platform supports a wide range of applications

Along with the launch of the new platform from Fujitsu, Daiwa Institute of Research has taken steps in preparation of building a virtual desktop environment consisting of 1,600 virtual machines, and will gradually roll out the new environment. Daiwa Institute of Research plans to employ the platform in a wide variety of applications, ranging from its use in offshore development in China requiring advanced security, to use by employees in Japan. In promoting the use of the platform for a diversity of group-wide applications, Daiwa Institute of Research plans to leverage the versatile and high-quality platform to pursue greater flexibility for its ICT resources, as well as increased efficiency in its system maintenance and operations.

4. Reduces total cost of ownership through a usage-based billing service

The newly constructed cloud platform at Fujitsu's Tatebayashi System Center employs Cloud On-Demand Service, which provides the units of service resources needed using a usage-based fee structure. As a result, Daiwa Institute of Research is able to improve the efficiency of its usage costs and reduce its total cost of ownership⁽⁴⁾ through a combination of base fees and on-demand fees.

Using as a model its track record in building system platforms that have these types of features, and combining that with its user experience know-how, Fujitsu plans to deliver new services and solutions that meet the increasingly diverse needs of customers, such as global collaboration environments capable of hybrid operation across multiple countries, strengthening governance in the wake of acquisitions, and transforming work processes through the use of remote environments.

Comment from Koichi Suzuki, Senior Executive Managing Director, Daiwa Institute of Research

Following on its support for PAN Manager®⁽⁵⁾, Fujitsu has now started a cloud service that complies with the Alliance Cloud. In contrast to the normal cloud services that people envision, this new service is a very user-friendly and transparent service that enables us to have access to additional IT resources when we need to supplement the IT resources of our own datacenter. Even user companies that have not reserved resources in the datacenter can access the resources in the form of IaaS and PaaS.

In the Global Alliance for User-driven Cloud Computing, user companies are promoting IT standardization. We plan to continually provide new services that maximize the benefits of standardization. As the Alliance Cloud was designed for mission-critical systems applications, it can be used in a wide variety of scenarios, such as situations in which no additional resources can be invested in one's own datacenter, when new businesses need to be launched quickly, and for quickly building back-up centers at low cost for distributed systems.

We are also using infrastructure that is compliant with the Alliance Cloud in our own datacenter. The Global Alliance for User-driven Cloud Computing will work with manufactures and vendors on verification of the latest cloud technologies in order to propose user-friendly services.