Verizon Business introduced on Wednesday (June 3) the industry's most comprehensive on-demand, "cloud-based" Computing as a Service (CaaS) solution designed to meet the stringent security and performance requirements of enterprise customers.

Verizon CaaS is helping businesses and government agencies take advantage of cloud (IP-based) computing to more efficiently and securely manage IT resources - server, network and storage - to meet day-to-day business demands.

The service - which leverages Verizon's world-class global IP infrastructure and data centers - enables mid-market and larger companies to use a Web-based portal to employ computing resources in the quantities and duration dictated by their business needs. As a result, businesses pay for the resources used and avoid having to build out for peak capacity requirements by buying new equipment and adding staff.

"Our new best-in-class solution offers enterprises an unbeatable combination of IT resources and professional services to help them rethink how they use computing resources to advance their business," said Nancy Gofus , Verizon senior vice president - global product development. "With Verizon CaaS, we are ushering in a new era of computing; one that offers enterprises security, resiliency and scalability on demand with a whole new level of flexibility and a low cost structure."

CaaS is immediately available in the U.S. and Europe and will be rolled out to the Asia-Pacific region in August. The service is supported by rigorous service level agreements to ensure enterprise-class performance and rapid server provisioning.

Exceptional Utility, Flexibility
Computing as a Service provides companies with significant upside. It is ideal for new development projects, major events, mergers and migrations so that organizations can easily and quickly shift IT resources as required. It is also well-suited for businesses with seasonal demands such as retailers, companies holding annual benefit enrollments or sales promotions that drive incremental traffic to Web sites.

CaaS allows companies to do internal charge-backs for resources consumed by individual departments or business units and provides a foundation for IT expansion. CaaS can be used for either Web-based or corporate applications running over Verizon's public IP network or its MPLS-based private network, Private IP.

Customers have access to a real-time, self-service portal that lets them dynamically provision and manage physical and virtual servers, network devices, storage, and backup services. The portal is accessed through the Verizon Enterprise Center, a one-stop resource for customers to manage all of their Verizon services.

"Verizon has incorporated a number of key elements that make this solution a stand-out in the marketplace," said Melanie Posey , research director, hosting & telecom services at IDC. "CaaS' combination of flexibility, security, performance and resiliency is well-positioned to serve certain enterprise requirements in a nimble, next-generation fashion.."

By outsourcing their needs to Verizon Business, customers can more clearly focus on their core business while knowing their IT environment is running efficiently with the right resources. Additionally, mid-market customers are able to access enterprise-class computing services on an on-demand model, giving them capabilities more on a par with larger and better resourced players - a competitive edge in today's dynamic marketplace.

Layered Approach to Security Offers Strong Defense
The No. 1 concern of enterprises in the adoption of cloud computing is security. Verizon addresses this concern by providing a secure infrastructure and a proactive, pragmatic approach to risk reduction under the Cybertrust Security Management Program. The company's data centers are also audited for physical security.

Additionally, Verizon Business has built strong security features into its CaaS offering. These include secure connections to customer-provisioned resources, as well as multi-tiered network with virtual firewall and an audit trail for all changes.

Customers can also opt for a third tier of optional, add-on security services including identity and access management, host intrusion detection, application vulnerability assessment, network application assessment and professional security services.

Technology Innovation, a Key Feature of Verizon CaaS
At the heart of Verizon Computing as a Service is the internally developed advanced workflow and automated resource engine that helps customers manage their computing resources easily and quickly while ensuring high availability of applications. In development for more than two years, Verizon Business worked with a broad range of leading technology providers, including HP, VMware and Red Hat to deliver its next-generation computing solution.

This advanced architecture lets customers provision both physical and virtual server environments to best accommodate the type of application being deployed - a key differentiator of the service. For example, a business may want to use a virtual environment for staging and development. For business-critical applications, such as database servers, businesses can choose a physical server infrastructure that lets them customize servers as well as select from a range of server configurations.

Gofus concluded: "Our new offering clearly provides strong advantages to customers choosing to leverage technology to enable their business. Today's smart enterprise knows that technology is a business enabler rather than the end goal. Verizon Business can help organizations of all sizes move to a new model that lets them leverage the use of IT resources and pay for what they use."

CaaS Extends Verizon's Expansive IT Portfolio of Solutions
CaaS joins Verizon Business' extensive portfolio of IT and hosting solutions aimed at helping customers improve their IT infrastructure and boost application performance in today's complex, dynamic business environment. Supported by a global team of professional services experts that deliver a broad range of world-class capabilities and backed by a secure and reliable technology infrastructure, these solutions allow customers to meet their most pressing IT needs. More information is available at http://www.verizonbusiness.com/us/itsolutions.