Savvis Sees Planets Aligning for Cloud

Bryan Doerr has been having lots of discussions with enterporise IT managers about cloud computing. Doerr, the chief technology officer for managed hosting specialist Savvis Inc. (SVVS), says the notion that enterprises are nervous about cloud computing is overblown.

"What we are increasingly hearing is that customers really liked the flexibility and purchasing model (for cloud computing)," said Doerr. "We feel very good from our customer conversations that uptake of these services will be good."

Doerr spoke with us about reaction to Savvis Cloud Compute, a new service that moves its utility computing service into the cloud, providing enterprise customers more flexibility in how they provision, manage and pay for services running in Savvis data centers. Central to the new offering is an improved customer portal that gives users more control in provisioning virtual compute and storage capabilities.

Savvis Cloud Compute is the company's first foray into the cloud after years of providing utility computing services to enterprise customers. The company has an interesting vantage point on enterprise interest in cloud services, as about 20 percent of Savvis' revenue comes from the financial services sector, which is keenly focused on security and reliability - two areas often cited as potential roadblocks to enterprise adoption of the cloud model. But other factors are driving many of the conversations.

"I think we are seeing that it's time to reduce costs," said Doerr. "After years iof more, more, more, the focus has shifted to less, less, less. That's a pivotal moment. The value proposition for cloud computing is clear, and the motivation is clear. I don't think we've had this confluence of factors before. The next 12 to 18 months are going to be interesting."

While Savvis hasn't been an early adopter in offering cloud computing services, it believes that it has timed its market entry to capture these lucrative enterprise opportunities. "The guys who came before us did the industry a favor by creating an environment in which a service provider can excel," said Doerr.