FUJITSU last week announced Hybrid Cloud Services for Microsoft Windows Azure, an extension of its global cloud portfolio and its relationship with Microsoft.

The firm, in a press release, said the offering enables government and enterprise customers to benefit from hybrid cloud solutions and achieve operating cost reductions of 30 per cent and more.

Fujitsu noted that Hybrid Cloud Services provides organisations with options when they embark on a cloud strategy, putting their workloads and data wherever it is most appropriate for them — in a public, private, or mixed environment. The solution helps companies address the challenges of interoperability, data security, governance and compliance when delivering across multiple platforms, proclaimed the firm, declaring that it delivers this through a comprehensive array of tooling, management and support services, and reference architectures to help customers manage their applications and data in the most effective and cost-efficient way.

The release quoted International Data Corporation chief analyst Frank Gens noting that research shows public sector organisations in most countries are concerned about data security.

“Providing options to meet this concern could open up a much larger market for public cloud services and in our opinion is definitely a trend to watch,” Gens said.

Against this background, Fujitsu said its Hybrid Cloud Services address the significant market potential in industry and government sectors that require a broader range of cloud deployment options, including hybrid options, within their business and IT environments.

Hybrid Cloud Services from Fujitsu links Microsoft Windows Azure-based components to Windows Server-based components running either in a customer’s premises or a Fujitsu cloud platform. This component portability enables Fujitsu to run an enterprise or government application in Windows Azure using data generated in one or more customer locations and to hold that data securely in a location of the customer’s choice. Specifically, this addresses the need for government organisations to comply with national data regulations.

“This is another addition to our dynamic Cloud Services portfolio where we are able to offer our customers greater cost-savings and flexibility using multiple cloud delivery models. With cost savings of 30 per cent or more when developing and running applications on Azure compared with hosting it on the client’s own infrastructure, the cost benefits of the Azure platform are significant,” said Sandra Jones — VP, marketing and communications for Fujitsu Caribbean.

“Fujitsu is offering hybrid cloud services designed to help customers keep better control over data, while still allowing them to benefit from the lower cost structure of using a public cloud for some workloads. Customers looking to get the best value from the Cloud can take advantage of the low cost of Microsoft’s Azure platform,” she added.

Doug Hauger, Windows Azure general manager from Microsoft Corporation, said in the release: “These new cloud options from Fujitsu demonstrate the potential for offering public cloud services with value-added service techniques to deliver sophisticated cloud solutions that meet customers’ specific needs. The hybrid cloud model from Fujitsu, which uses the Microsoft Windows Azure platform, shows how our work together will address key customer needs such as integration with on-premise systems or specific security requirements.”