Orlando, Fla. – As part of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Dell introduced an IT-as-a-service called CloudRunner targeted at managed service providers (MSPs).
CloudRunner enables customers to bring licenses or rent licenses from Microsoft along with other Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and have them available, securely, from any laptop, tablet, and desktop, smartphone or future end-point.
For MSPs, CloudRunner provides a path to cloud services specifically for small-to-medium-sized businesses.
Darrin Swan, the director of worldwide sales and R&D for Dell Software, told CDN that the Dell brand combined with the Microsoft brand carries credibility in the marketplace over the small service provider brand.
“Everyone has a smartphone. They are easy to use and more importantly predictable. With CloudRunner we want to deliver complex data and apps easier, like the smartphone,” Swan said.
While Microsoft is the main software vendor for CloudRunner, Swan said that other top vendors such as Sage Software, Intuit and Symantec will be a big part of this initiative.
The strategy behind CloudRunner is Dell recognizes the rapid rate of cloud adoption in the marketplace and with that the new buying patterns. CloudRunner works to accommodate new consumption models from cloud.
The pay-as-you-go CloudRunner service incorporates a test drive before sign-up, automated provisioning of hosted and managed IT services, the ability to distribute hundreds of business apps. It also supports Dell’s end-to-end product strategy, Swan said.
CloudRunner has the potential to expand an MSPs’ Sonicwall Firewall-as-a-Service offering along with backup and recovery-as-a-service, compliance-as-a-service, email, data migration and end point management.
“IT is complex because there are so many moving parts and sometimes you are locked in. This enables customers to work in a similar experience and on mobile devices. SMBs are transitioning to a cloud utility model and with CloudRunner you can now leverage automation and make the workflows do all the hard work for you,” Swan said.
Swan added that CloudRunner provides faster time-to-market with the ability to use its own brand. It also helps MSPs with billing and can scale to address new capacity needs of the customer.
Dell is part of the CSP program from Microsoft as a syndication partner and the plan going forward is to include Office 365, 3rd party apps from ISVs, (10GB) storage, Wyse, service pro support from Dell.
“CloudRunner provides the partner with no cash out of pocket platform. It’s rebrandable for their own look-and-feel. They can put whatever they want in it. It’s there marketplace. There’s a billing system, PCI compliance, credit card support, invoicing, purchase ordering and help desk,” Swan said.
“This turns the partner into a cloud provider in a week. It’s as fast as they want to go.”
