VMware generated quite a bit of buzz last week by launching vSphere 5 and a suite of integrated VMware products which could shape the future of cloud infrastructure. This was indeed a timely move, after Citrix recently acquired Cloud.com. It is evident that VMware is not yet ready to give up the top spot in virtualization, even with Citrix and Microsoft steadily making progress.

VMware intends to be the main infrastructure provider for the cloud with its Cloud Infrastructure Suite, specifically for private clouds. This integrated VMware product lineup could simplify IT infrastructure for end users. With virtualized IT infrastructure, it provides an opportunity for businesses to trim IT headcount, streamlining management and resources alike. VMware aims to go beyond the PC era wherein traditional infrastructure is designed for each application. With virtualized infrastructure, multiple applications run in a common infrastructure, bringing efficiency to the core of its product implementation.

To further enhance its storage-as-a-service solutions, VMware parent company EMC announced that PEER 1 Hosting has launched its EMC Atmos. PEER 1 is considered one of the leading hosting providers in the world, with 12,000 customers and 17 datacenters worldwide. EMC Atmos is the main foundation of PEER 1’s CloudOne Storage, which offers highly flexible, cost-efficient and reliable storage-as-a-service solutions to customers.

Dax Moreno of PEER 1 says that they underwent a tedious evaluation of eight cloud providers before settling on EMC’s solutions. EMC’s integrated software and hardware cloud solutions, and dedication to the cloud have influenced a great deal in PEER 1’s decision to work with EMC. The deployment of EMC Atmos gives PEER 1 the ability to scale to unlimited capacities.

“Our go-to-market strategy is to make CloudOne Storage just three clicks away from any customer that wants it,” stated John Hamner, Product Manager of PEER 1 Hosting.

“EMC Atmos helped us reach that goal and in addition, using the new Atmos APIs, we are able to customize the fit for our customer’s offerings and tap into a number of different markets such as streaming media or desktop backups.”