Infrastructure optimization vendor Cirba Inc. has put its Densify virtual infrastructure capacity management software in the cloud and added new advisory services. The new capability, called Expert Insight, provides customers with “interactive insight and guidance on risks and opportunities in their VMware or hybrid cloud environments,” according the company. Advice is integrated into the core user interface, offering notifications of additional efficiences that users can realize by redistributing workloads.

Densify takes what Cirba Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Andrew Hillier calls “a Tetris approach to machine optimization,” referring to the popular block-stacking game. Users download, a connector that peers into their VMware Inc. virtual machines as well as cloud instances from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, VMware vCloud Air and IBM Softlayer to look for ways to optimize workload patterns. Hillier, said customers typically see a 48 percent increase in virtual machine density using the on-premise version of the software. Densify is a cloud version of capabilities the company has provided on-premise for several years.

Densify analyzes requirements of new and existing apps and recommends where to deploy resources more efficiently. “We’ll tell you to move virtual machines around to free up a bunch of space. We’ll tell you to make things bigger or smaller. We’ll right-size your Amazon virtual machines,” Hillier said. “We’re predictively analyzing and recommending how environments can be ‘calmed down.’” The system also recommends preferred deployment options, such as running a workload on site or moving into a cloud service provider.

The new Expert Insight feature is based upon analysis of efficiencies that other customers are realizing. Human engineers curate this content and present notes and recommendations to users in real time. “You’ll see little light bulbs that suggest how you can optimize your schedule,” Hillier said.

The service is included as part of Densify’s standard pricing, which is custom-quoted and based upon the number of targets managed. Founded in 1999, Cirba is a privately-owned company headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. It has raised $38.23 million in financing, according to Crunchbase.

Image courtesy Cirba