THINK IT Services

Salesforce.com, Dell-Boomi, Progress Software and Birst are the latest Cloud companies sponsoring and speaking at the Cloud Channel Summit, on Monday, November 7, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

These Cloud companies join a growing number of sponsors, partners and speakers participating in the one-day executive forum which will bring together senior executives from leading Cloud vendors and their channel company counterparts to share industry best practices and innovative ideas for building profitable and successful channel partnerships in the Cloud. 

Click here for more information.

OpSource and the Virtual Computer Environment (VCE) Company announced an alliance today which will offer joint solutions aimed at helping service providers (xSPs) launch public cloud services more quickly. This joint initiative is the latest effort by various vendors to enable  xSPs to fulfill their promise as potent ‘cloud brokers’.

VCE is a joint venture formed by Cisco and EMC, with additional investments from VMware and Intel, to create a new generation of networking, storage, virtualization and management technologies to improve xSP infrastructure operations. VCE’s primary product is the Vblock™ Infrastructure Platform for virtualization, data processing, networking and storage capabilities in cloud computing environments.

In this new alliance, OpSource is adding its cloud orchestration software capabilities to VCE’s Vblock Platform to enable xSPs to handle the user sign-up, provisioning, metering, billing, and reporting requirements associated with cloud services. Together, OpSource and VCE’s combined solution promises to eliminate needless development costs, accelerate the service providers’ time to market and reduce their ongoing cost of operations.

OpSource and VCE are not the first to market with a cloud orchstration solution. BMC, HP and Parallels have also announced cloud orchestration solutions for service providers, among others. However, VCE is backed by powerful xSP vendors and OpSource adds a competitive edge based on its extensive hands-on experience delivering cloud services.

I’ve worked with nearly all of the major xSPs who are trying to win a share of the rapidly evolving cloud marketplace. They are all in a hurry to rollout cloud services, but plagued by their traditional corporate cultures, legacy infrastructures and byzantine business processes. So, none of these cloud orchestration solutions can be expected to win a lot of xSP contracts short-term. It will be a long sales process.

Beyond the obvious opportunities and challenges associated with selling these cloud orchestration solutions to xSPs, what fascinates me even more is how this alliance moves OpSource into a different position in the market.

In fact, when I was briefed by OpSource execs about this announcement, the first word that came out of my mouth was “Opsware”. For anyone who is not familar with Opsware, it was a hosting services software orchestration vendor acquired by HP after it was spun out of LoudCloud which was a hosting services company acquired by EDS a decade ago.  

Silverback Technologies went through a similar evolution in the managed services realm, shifting its business from selling services to offering a software platform to other MSPs which was eventually sold to Dell.

Now, OpSource appears to be moving down the same software path offering its ‘platform’ solution to other xSPs.

The recent flurry of major vendor announcements regarding their new Cloud Computing initiatives, latest acquisitions and offerings clearly shows that the “Cloud Rush” is in high gear.

Here’s a quick list of the announcements which have caught my attention over the past few weeks in chronological order since HP unveiled its Cloud ‘vision’ last month, and my views regarding their significance,

• Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire newScale, 03/29/11  – Cisco Systems has been pushing into the ‘new data center’ environment for a while with its Unified Computing solutions. It acquired newScale to improve its provisioning capabilities to make it a more viable Cloud vendor for enterprise customers and service provider partners.
• Salesforce.com to Acquire Radian6, 03/30/11  - Now that Salesforce.com has succeeded in popularizing its Chatter social networking capabilities, it wants to give its customers the necessary tools to monitor, manage and measure the effectiveness of these new features.
• Intuit, Salesforce.com Announce Strategic Alliance, 04/01/11  -  Despite its investment in FinancialForce.com and support of numerous integration tools vendors that link salesforce.com’s CRM solution with QuickBooks, salesforce.com is seeking to strengthen its position in the SMB/SME market by building a closer working relationship with Intuit which is also working with Microsoft. Intuit is also trying to reinforce its position within the SaaS/Cloud ecosystem.
• SugarCRM Acquires iExtensions, the Market-Leading CRM for Lotus Notes, 04/05/11  – SugarCRM’s growth is further proof of the growing acceptance of Open Source solutions in the market. Its acquisition of iExtensions strengthens its ties with Lotus Notes which is a pivotal part of IBM’s SaaS/Cloud efforts. And, its growing relationship with IBM illustrates how SugarCRM hopes will gain an even greater foothold in mainstream businesses. Don’t be surprised if this alliance evolves into an acquisition in the months to come.
• SITA Launches Dedicated Air Transport Industry (ATI) Cloud, 04/06/11  – I’ve been saying for the past year that the SaaS/Cloud market is entering a third stage in its evolution, moving from broadly focused horizontal business and IT management apps to a new generation of industry-specific SaaS/Cloud solutions. This new stage is a clear indication that the SaaS/Cloud movement is gaining acceptance across nearly every industry and is now viewed as an important mechanism for reengineering the fundamental business processes within various sectors. SITA has been supporting the operating needs of the airline industry since 1949, and is among the latest industry-specific providers to launch a strategic initiative aimed at Cloud Computing.
• IBM Joins Forces With Over 45 Organizations to Launch Cloud Standards Customer Council for Open Cloud Computing, 04/07/11  - IBM has been aggressively pursuing Cloud opportunities since the concept first gained attention. It made an initial effort to spearhead the Cloud standards process which caused a lot of controversy because many people were suscipious of IBM’s motives at the time. Today’s announcement will generate a more positive response because it is supported by an impressive cross-section of enterprise organizations and Cloud vendors. It also recognizes and endorses the existing Cloud inititives of various standards bodies, the most recent of which was announced by the IEEE on Monday. IBM also rolled out another wave of Cloud products and services today that further expands its portfolio of hardware, software and service offerings, and puts additional pressure on its competitors.
• Dell Invests $1 Billion in Technology Solutions and Services to Help Customers Drive Business Results Today and in the Future, 04/07/11  – Dell is not about to let IBM, HP or Oracle outpace its own Cloud initiatives. The company tried to demonstrate today the magnitude of its efforts to develop and deliver Cloud solutions and services aimed at enterprises and end-users. Dell can tell a good Cloud story because of its long history of delivering automated systems and offering Ecommerce services. It has also done a surprisingly good job leveraging its Perot Systems professional services and systems integration services to create vertical market solutions. Click here to read my initial vision of Dell’s Cloud capabilities two years ago.

These announcements and initiatives illustrate the significance of the Cloud Computing phenomenon. They also show the scalability of the market opportunities, extending from SMBs/SMEs to major industries. And, they demonstrate how the Cloud is fundamentally changing the competitive landscape and customer expectations.

HP’s new CEO, Leo Apotheker unveiled the company’s latest corporate strategy yesterday with plenty of fanfare, but little flourish.

The theme of his talk and HP’s new mantra is providing “connectivity” to the Cloud to move “Everyone On”.

While the picture he painted of this new world order and HP’s strategic response covered all the bases, there are still plenty of pieces which must come together in order to make it a reality.

Apotheker’s ‘vision’ was certainly well-conceived and his presentation was well-scripted. No one can argue with his view that,

“We see clearly a world in which the impact of cloud and connectivity is changing not only the user experience, but how individuals, small businesses and enterprises will consume, deploy and leverage information technology.”

I would also agree that ”HP is well positioned to be the trusted leader in addressing this opportunity.”  But, it faces plenty of problems capitalizing on this opportunity.

Apotheker’s four-point strategy to capture this opportunity includes:

1. “Extending its leadership in managing and optimizing today’s traditional environments;”
2. “Leveraging HP’s core strength in cloud to build and manage next-generation cloud-based architectures;”
3. “Being the trusted partner to customers by enabling the seamless transition to hybrid computing models; and”
4. “Defining and delivering the connected world from the consumer to the enterprise.”

That just about covers every angle of today’s rapidly evolving marketplace. And, HP has been inching in this direction for a while. It is not only the largest IT vendor, but also boasts a very loyal consumer, SMB, enterprise and channel following.

But, HP is also burdened with legacy products, both hardware and software, as well as cumbersome business processes. Many of its systems are too expensive. Nearly all of its software is too complex. And, too many of its business processes are too disjointed. So, attacking all of these market opportunities simultaneously in an cost-effective and profitable fashion isn’t going to be easy.

The good news is that Apotheker and HP recognize these issues and are promising to address them. Even more promising is Apotheker’s statement that they are not going to acquire more legacy systems and software to solve their problems. This will hopefully put to rest the persistent rumors that HP will acquire SAP.

Instead, HP needs to build and acquire new functional capabilities which will quickly automate its systems and SaaSify its software and services.

HP must carefully traverse the three segments of the Cloud Computing world — Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

While Apotheker suggested that HP must play in all three areas, I would suggest that it concentrate on SaaS and IaaS, and limit its PaaS efforts to inviting third-party developers to add onto its OpenView IT management suite via application program interfaces (APIs) which can enhance and accelerate the evolution of OpenView. I call this the “tugboat” strategy.

In order for HP to outduel IBM, I believe it must capitalize on its consumer market presence; focus on its IT management capabilities, and keep its corporate infighting to a minimum.

IBM gave away its PC business and has no handheld device or consumer market presence. It has put its software emphasis on cloud enablement rather than cloud management. Middleware is important, but so is controlling the chaos created by the Cloud. And, IBM continues to contend with political battles between its hardware, software and services divisions which not only retard its responsiveness to rapid market changes, but also compounds its costs as each group seeks to maximize its revenue streams.

HP is certainly suscepitable to the same organizational issues, but can counteract them by exploiting its channel relationships and consumer orientation.

While Dell can match HP on the consumer front, it is still playing catch-up at the enterprise level with its Perot Systems services and automated systems. And, it hasn’t been able to overcome its historic channel issues.

When Lou Gerstner took over IBM as it was coming apart at the seams and many called for its divestiture, he proclaimed that the company’s competitive advantage was its broadbased portfolio of hardware, software and services, and asserted it didn’t need a vision it needed to execute.

Apotheker also sees the benefit of a multidisciplinary corporate portfolio, but believes that it needs to be guided by a new vision to fuel its continued growth.

Converting a vision into execution doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, it will probably never be entirely fulfilled. Instead, HP will be measured by how quickly it can demonstrate it is making tangible progress in its efforts.

[Disclosure:HP, IBM, and Dell have all been THINKstrategies clients.}

Dell’s acquisition of Boomi today is the latest example of the tech industry’s herd mentality.

In the same way that Dell followed HP’s example when it purchased Perot Systems after HP acquired EDS, Dell is now copying IBM’s acquisition of Cast Iron Systems with its own move into the integration business.

Besides trying to keep up with other ’systems’ vendors, Dell is also attempting to fortify its Cloud Computing capabilities which hinge on helping potential customers cost-effectively migrate and integrate data from various legacy applications and databases into a new set of cloud services.

Dell indicated at an analyst briefing in Boston last week that it wants to ‘move up the stack’ and build a platform which can help enterprises and independent software vendors (ISVs) develop and deliver applications. Dell can’t compete with the other major Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) vendors — including Salesforce.com, Google and Microsoft — from a software development standpoint. But, it can challenge them and others, such as Amazon and IBM, from an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) point of view.

Why Boomi?

Because it is small enough for Dell to digest easily to test the integration market opportunities and requirements. It is still assimilating Perot Systems into its operations and corporate culture, and may not have been ready to acquire a bigger player, like Informatica or Pervasive.

Why is Boomi selling at this time?

My sense is they were at risk of becoming a victim of their own success and their rapid growth was creating operational strains which would take significant new investment to offset. Rather than make this investment, Boomi’s investors and management team felt that the Dell deal would not only give them a solid ‘exit’ but also the corporate resources necessary to ‘cross the chasm’.

It will be interesting to see if Dell is able to do a better job assimilating and growing Boomi’s business than it has with some of its previous Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) acquisitions — Everdream, SilverBack Technologies and MessageOne.

By coincidence, I heard about today’s news while attending Pervasive Software’s IntegratioNEXTconference, down the road from Dell in Austin, TX. You can bet there were a lot of smiling faces among the Pervasive staff who expect Dell’s move to trigger additional integration vendor acquisitions. I’m sure Pervasive’s counterparts at Informatica, which is also hosting a partner conference this week, were equally excited about Dell’s move.

While speculation about a Boomi acquisition has been rising since the Cast Iron Systems purchase by IBM, Dell was not high on the list of potential suitors suggested by various industry observers, including myself. Instead, the clearer candidates seemed to be HP, SAP, Oracle, EMC or even Microsoft.

All these companies continue to be likely acquirers for the handful of remaining integration vendors, including Hubspan and SnapLogic, in addition to Pervasive and Informatica. Not to be overlooked as potential buyers are also Google and Cisco Systems.

When Oracle announced its intention to acquire Sun Microsystems in April 2009, CEO Larry Ellison proclaimed the acquisition, “transforms the IT industry, combining best-in-class enterprise software and mission-critical computing systems.”

Although he was not ready to use the term at the time, it didn’t take long for Oracle to refer to its combined capabilities as a Cloud Computing solution set, which it recently put on full display at its annual OpenWorld conference.

The event was also a coming out party for its new President, Mark Hurd, the high flying former HP CEO who departed in disgrace only a month earlier. Hurd’s appointment wasn’t hard to understand given his hardware experience at HP and NCR, and now gives Oracle’s move into the system business even more significance.

HP has retaliated by announcing the appointment of Leo Apotheker as its new CEO, along with Ray Lane as its non-executive chairman of the board. Apotheker comes to HP with extensive experience in the software industry, suggesting that the company is ready to counter Oracle’s move by escalating its own efforts in the enterprise software business.

But, Apotheker comes to HP with far less success as a software executive than Hurd achieved in his comparable time in the hardware business. Apotheker resigned as CEO of SAP AG in February after the company had fallen into a deep malaise of slow sales coupled with low customer satisfaction and employee morale.

Despite his dismal record, HP has swapped a successful hardware executive for an unsuccessful software executive.

Like nearly every other industry watcher, my friends at Triple-Tree and I didn’t see this coming when we generated our own list of potential candidates, although we were half-right in suggesting Ray Lane would be a good candidate for the top job at HP, but we didn’t necessarily mean the board chairmanship role.

Apotheker’s appointment is not only aimed at attacking Oracle’s rising threat on the systems side, but is also intended to fend off IBM’s continued push into the software business as well. Big Blue has been on a software buying spree and has done more than HP to position itself in the cloud. CA Technologies has also been acquiring an assortment of young software companies squarely focused on the cloud computing phenomenon. HP also has to reexamine its relationships with Cisco Systems and Microsoft because of their moves into the server and services businesses as well.

HP has also been engaged in an escalating battle with Dell, most recently in its fight-to-the-finish bidding war for 3PAR while it was CEO-less. In addition to competing in the server market, both companies have also deepened their services capabilities by acquiring EDS and Perot Systems respectively. I’ve questioned these moves because they are focused on the old world of IT outsourcing rather than the new world of cloud computing.

But, Apotheker’s appointment also raises serious questions about why senior executives within HP continue to be passed over for the CEO job as outsiders seem to come and go. My guess is that some of these executives will be jumping ship shortly, leaving Apotheker with the additional challenge/opportunity of building a new leadership team.

So, can Apotheker transform HP into a software-driven company? More specifically, can he transform HP’s current software business into a competitive player in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market? And, can he combine HP’s software, hardware and service capabilities to create a viable cloud computing portfolio which can compete on an even broader battlefield?

If the past is any indication, the odds are against him. However, anyone who is familiar with the controversy which surrounded Bill Belichick’s hiring as the New England Patriots’ head coach in 2000 knows that he arrived with plenty of skeptics because he had failed dismally in his only other head coaching experience. Yet, he proved the skeptics wrong by leading the Patriots to three Super Bowl titles in his first five years and has continued to be a contender for the better part of the past five years as well.

Maybe Apotheker can pull off a similar surprise at HP. But, he’ll be facing far greater challenges and failure could have far greater consequences.

Some are already suggesting that one of Apotheker’s first moves should be to acquire SAP, which boasts an attractive installed base of customers who currently rely heavily on IBM systems to power SAP’s enterprise applications. Acquiring SAP would enable HP to square off against Oracle and dislodge IBM from many of these accounts. But, it could also burden HP with an aging set of on-premise applications and the same set of disgruntled customers who were happy to see Apotheker leave SAP before. (I’d be more comfortable seeing HP acquire Symantec, which would fill its security and storage management void, and would fit better into HP’s product portfolio, channel strategy and corporate culture.)

Companies often make bold moves to serve as a catalyst for change. This is certainly the intent of Apotheker’s hiring. However, HP’s board better be sure they found the right guy before they compound their past mistakes by trying to become an enterprise application vendor as well. It wasn’t too long ago that Carly Fiorina was in the midst of a series of highly publicized internal battles trying to prove the logic of her proposed acquisitons of Compaq and PwC.

The Compaq acquisition, in addition to EDS, has made HP the biggest company in the tech sector. But, they haven’t made it a leader in the rapidly evolving Cloud Computing market which is transforming the tech industry.

Apotheker refused to comment about Oracle’s strategies in response to a question during his introductory press conference, but acknowledged that the technology industry is in the midst of a very disruptive transition period as demand for cloud computing services explodes. His ultimate challenge will be transforming HP into a company which can capitalize on this extraordinary opportunity.

Years ago, I considered the week leading into Labor Day as the final hurrah of the Summer and tried to preserve it for an end of season vacation to cap off the warm weather months in New England. Then my kids became school age and schools started kicking off before the holiday weekend. (Don’t get me started on this silly practice.)

Now, the tech industry is also making a habit of getting back into stride for the new Fall season before the dog days of August are behind us. One of the important annual venues for kicking off the new season of activity is VMworld.

This year’s event is generating plenty of news, especially regarding cloud-oriented acquisitions and alliances. Here’s a quick sampling:

• VMware Acquires Integrien and TriCipher 
• Verizon and VMware to Launch Enterprise-Class Hybrid Cloud Solution 
• BlueLock Introduces VMware vCloud Datacenter Service with CloudConnector 
• EMC Transforms Management of the Private Cloud, Ionix Unified Infrastructure Manager 2.0 Now in Customer Beta
• Citrix Acquires Virtualisation Firm VMLogix 

Why all the buzz surrounding this event?

Virtualization is one of the critical building blocks for creating cloud computing environments and VMware has become a key player in the cloud computing marketplace. As a result, a widening array of tech companies, service providers and channel organizations are aligning themselves with VMware. At the same time, other virtualization vendors are trying to keep pace with VMware’s capabilities and strategies.

This week’s acquisitions, alliances and other announcements are just the latest illustrations about how this marketplace is evolving and the competitive landscape is shifting.

For instance, performance and access management are pivotal pieces in a public or private cloud computing environment. This is the reasoning behind VMware’s acquisition of Integrien and TriCipher, and part of the thinking that drove Citrix’s acquisiton of VMLogix.

So, while the Dell/HP bidding war over 3Par has captured plenty of attention, other industry players are staking their own claims on a share of the rapidly expanding cloud computing market opportunity.

I’ve been suggesting for years that PC vendors could be great channel partners for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendors, and Dell now has an opportunity to prove me right.

Today, Dell and saleforce.com announced that Dell will offer salesforce.com’s SaaS solutions to its small- and mid-size business (SMB) customers via its website.

This is a natural combination. Dell has been a prominent customer of salesforce.com’s on-demand CRM solutions. Salesforce.com uses Dell’s computers in its data centers. This week, the companies’ CEOs will be on stage together at Oracle’s Open World conference.

Selling software to its customers isn’t new for Dell. It has been offering Microsoft Office, Symantec Anti-Virus and other applications for a while. Adding salesforce.com’s on-demand solutions enables Dell to position itself as a fuller, ‘one-stop shop’ for SMBs.

This gives salesforce.com a strong new channel to market and builds on Dell’s core competency as a direct sales company, offsetting some of the challenges which will arise from Dell’s recent decision to acquire Perot Systems.

This is another example of the aggressive efforts SaaS vendors are making to broaden their channels to market and hardware vendors’ efforts to add SaaS to their portfolios, including NetSuite’s previous partnership with HP and Cisco’s acquisition of WebEx.

At the moment, IBM is putting its energies into promoting its LotusLive SaaS capabilities. It will be interesting to see how it responds to these competitive moves and positions itself as a channel to market for third-party SaaS vendors as well.

Dell’s acquisition of Perot Systems clearly demonstrates that Dell is in the midst of abandoning its historic advantage as the most efficient direct marketing company in the tech industry, in favor of following the increasingly failed outsourcing models of its bigger hardware rivals.

By buying Perot Systems, Dell is following in the footsteps of HP’s acquisition of EDS in an attempt to match the IT outsourcing (ITO) and services capabilities of IBM.

The only problem is that an increasing number of large-scale enterprises have become disillusioned with tradition ITO because these asset transfer deals have generally failed to achieve their business objectives. Even traditional IT consulting engagements frustrate many IT and business decision-makers because they tend to be too long and expensive.

Blending a labor-intensive business, like Perot Systems, with a product-centric company, like Dell, is also a formula for trouble. These are two very different business models and corporate cultures. Just ask IBMers who have witnessed the constant tug-of-war between its hardware, software and services divisions.

It is for these reasons that I originally criticized HP’s acquisition of EDS. That deal may have fortified HP’s outsourcing business, but it also caused a lot of corporate infighting and hasn’t moved HP any closer to becoming a player in the increasingly cloud computing arena, where the real action will be for years to come.

I always felt that it was unfortunate timing when Dell decided to expand its channels to market at the same time it was acquiring a number of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies to develop greater remote service capabilities. These acquisitions could have given Dell an opportunity to redefine how IT services are built and delivered, and in turn could have further differentiated Dell in the commodity PC business.

Instead, Dell decided to push its products through a broader array of  resellers, many of whom had built up a deep-seated hatred for Dell because of its direct sales tactics of the past. In order to placate these anomosities, Dell has slowed the development of its ‘on-demand’ services as it tries to determine how to position these offerings so they won’t further offend Dell’s potential partners.

Ironically, the Perot purchase will set off far more alarms among third-party service providers, including value-added resellers and integrators, who were just getting comfortable with Dell. Now, they will have to be convinced that Dell isn’t trying to compete with them in the IT services market.

As I said at the time of the HP-EDS deal, this transaction may make sense on paper but it misses the real market opportunity. The world is moving to the ‘cloud’ and Perot has very little to offer in this brave new world.

It may have data center expertise and hosting capabilities, but Perot Systems is not a recognized player in the cloud computing arena. Instead, its people and processes are more likely to reduce the innovation and agility which Dell desperately needs at this time to clearly set itself apart from its competition rather than just imitate them.

Despite the specific problems with this transaction, it doesn’t diminish my view that there is an important role for professional services, consulting and value-added resellers (VARs) in the SaaS and cloud computing market. However, it will take more future-minded IT service providers and tech companies to capitalize on this opportunity.

Dell’s announcement today of a new EqualLogic PS6000 series of storage arrays might appear to be a straightforward attempt to elevate the company’s stature in enterprise data centers. But, I think the company has an opportunity to aim higher than that.

Dell has always been about providing better computers at a lower price by finding economies at every stage of the development and delivery supply-chain. Some call this commoditizing markets. Others see it disintermediating the channel. Anyway you look at it, from its inception, Dell has been in the business of redefining and disrupting the way the computer industry operates.

Dell helped to bring PCs and laptops to the masses via direct online sales. It made it easy for companies to acquire servers in the same fashion. Now, Dell is setting its sites on transforming the way companies operate their data centers by leveraging its EqualLogic capabilities to raise the bar regarding the performance and flexibility of today’s server technology, as well as simplifying and automating the deployment process.

Dell’s foray into the data center will be a welcome relief to some CIOs and other corporate executives who have been pleased with Dell’s products and services at the departmental and end-user level, and frustrated with the complexities and costs of traditional hardware in their data centers.

But, I would be disappointed if Dell stopped there because I think there are a growing number of enterprise CIOs and corporate executives who would be very interested in offloading, or ‘out-tasking’, portions of their internal data center requirements to a Dell-powered ‘cloud computing’ service.

By offering a cloud computing service, Dell not only creates a new revenue stream but also provides a showplace where corporate customers can see Dell’s computing power at work.

Dell has already made it clear that it wants to redefine the IT services market by building service functionality into its computers and automating many other aspects of traditional support and consulting services. Dell has also made a series of acquisitions to achieve this vision, including EqualLogic, Everdream and SilverBack Technologies.

Just as the overall cloud computing industry has evolved from the success of the SaaS movement, Dell has an opportunity to extend its technology capabilities and brand equity into the clouds by leveraging its new functionality and corporate history as a business innovator to respond to customers’ growing receptivity to cloud computing services.