Last year, Microsoft and Dell jointly introduced the Cloud Platform System Premium software powered by Dell infrastructure. This was their first cloud in-a-box service.
Today, the dynamic duo has announced yet another cloud service named Cloud Platform System Standard, a new package of Microsoft cloud software that’s designed to be deployed on purpose-built Dell hardware for companies’ on-premises data centers. In short, the cloud service for this year is at a much smaller scale than the one we saw from the two companies last year.
The service bundle comes along with Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, Windows Azure Pack as well as the Dell Cloud Manager software. The Dell hardware it is based on includes PowerEdge servers capable of running as many as 400 virtual machines and features a couple of top-of-rack switches.
The system is expected to cost as little as $9,000 fro 6 months after which the companies could choose to either outright buy the system or return it.
Also, Dell will separately start selling Microsoft products like Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility Suite services.
Though it seems as if Dell and Microsoft are completely swell with each other, Dell isn’t closing on any options too. The company, apparently, doesn’t want to be providing services exclusively for the Redmond giant. EMC’s VMware has cloud services, soon to be part of Virtustream, which in turn will show up on VMware’s earnings statements. The hardware manufacturer wants to be heterogenous, open, and flexible, Dell’s Glenn Keels said during a press briefing on the subject.
