Verizon and VMware have joined forces to offer a hybrid cloud computing service that combines virtualization for a private public-cloud infrastructure for enterprises.

The new Computing as a Service (CaaS) enabled by VMware vCloud Datacenter offering is currently in field trials, and will be offered in beta in the fourth quarter and for general availability in the first quarter of 2011. The offering lets organizations move their private data center to the public cloud in a secure way, according to the two vendors.

"The service itself—the infrastructure—is secure," says Mathew Lodge, senior director of cloud services for VMware. "The security policy in VMware follows the application around wherever it goes in the cloud."

VMware's Lodge says the service uses virtualization to bridge existing IT applications into the cloud. This lets organizations get better connectivity, reach, and delivery to their customers and users, he says.

The Verizon hybrid cloud service also lets organizations move applications back and forth from the physical data center and the cloud. "One of the things we hear [from customers] is 'how do I get my data back and my apps out of the cloud?'" for temporarily shifting apps for seasonal or capacity reasons, Lodge says.

"This offering is clearly aimed at giving enterprises more robust tools to build their own private cloud environments to alleviate their concerns about the security risks associated with today’s public cloud services," says Jeffrey Kaplan, managing director at THINKstrategies.

Verizon points to hotel firm InterContinental Hotels Group, which has been testing the move of some of its apps to the cloud, depending on peak busy seasons like the holidays or vacation timeframes. "We must have the elasticity in our computing infrastructure that cloud delivers while, at the same time, use our current IT configurations and applications," said Bates Turpen, senior vice president of global operations for IHG.

VMware is also working with other service providers on similar offerings, the companies say.

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