With the craze of virtualization and IPOs going around, even the consulting firms are hoping to get a piece of the financial stock action.  Glasshouse who had acquired virtualization consulting firm RapidApp back in July of this year, is now on the hunt for IPO cash to expand their operation.  Check out this TechConfidential article:

GlassHouse Technologies Inc. on Tuesday registered to raise as much as $100 million in an initial public offering that, despite the company's financial losses, could prove a hit with investors drawn to its focus on "virtualization" technology.

The Framingham, Mass., company offers consulting services for companies that use virtualization software to improve the performance of corporate servers and cut costs in their data centers. GlassHouse also provides Internet-based data storage. "Software-as-a-service," or SaaS, companies and vendors of virtualization products have proved popular among investors in recent years as corporate customers seek alternatives to conventional packaged software.

GlassHouse, with roots in both sectors, will test the strength of that interest, said Peter Falvey, managing director with Boston investment bank Revolution Partners. "It will be a bit of a bell weather," he says. "It's not as though it's the 15th SaaS model to go public in the last year, so it will be interesting to see who the public analysts use for comparables. This one is a bit of a hybrid."

Despite GlassHouse's focus on hot technologies, the company continues to bleed cash. In 2006 it reported a net loss of $9.6 million on sales of $37.8 million. GlassHouse also faces formidable competition. It operates in the same sphere as giants such as IBM Corp. of Armonk, N.Y., and local rival EMC Corp. of Hopkinton, Mass., although it doesn't sell software or hardware, as these companies do.

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The company expects to use the proceeds from its IPO for operating capital and to make acquisitions, according to regulatory filings. GlassHouse this year has spent $30 million buying four storage consulting companies in the U.S. and abroad as part of its growth plan. Falvey said that the IPO would give GlassHouse funds to continue its acquisition spree, which would likely target smaller tech consulting firms.

Read the entire article from TechConfidential.com, here.