rPath today announced that its Cloud Computing Adoption Model white paper, “The Pragmatist's Guide to Cloud Computing” is available online at http://www.rpath.com/corp/pragmatist-guide.

rPath also announced that it will be presenting “The Cloud Computing Adoption Model: A Graduated Stepwise Approach to Virtualization and Cloud” at 10:00 a.m. EST (7:00 a.m. PST) during the Virtualization Summit to be held online Tuesday, November 4, 2008. To register for the rPath presentation, please visit http://www.brighttalk.com/webcasts/1421/attend.

“Virtualization and cloud computing have a transformative impact on the cost and efficiency of software delivery and consumption, which makes investments in these areas of even greater importance during a down economy,” said Jake Sorofman, VP of marketing for rPath. “But despite its importance, the path to cloud remains elusive for many organizations. rPath developed the Cloud Computing Adoption Model to propose what we believe is a useful incremental approach to cloud adoption, while also stimulating a public conversation about patterns and practices that can help us all become smarter about virtualization and cloud initiatives.”

rPath’s Cloud Computing Adoption Model defines a pragmatic, five-step approach for the graduated adoption of virtualization and cloud technologies, helping organizations realize the promise and avoid the perils of cloud computing. The model provides a practical, step-by-step framework for achieving measurable benefits now, while laying the foundation for the strategic benefits of a cloud infrastructure over time. The five levels of cloud computing adoption include:

Level 1: Virtualization. The first level of cloud adoption employs hypervisor-based infrastructure and application virtualization technologies for seamless portability of applications and shared server infrastructure.

Level 2: Cloud Experimentation. Virtualization is taken to a cloud model, either internally or externally, based on controlled and bounded deployments utilizing a simple external cloud for compute capacity and as the reference architecture.

Level 3: Cloud Foundations. Governance, controls, procedures, policies, and best practices begin to form around the development and deployment of cloud applications. Initially, level 3 efforts will focus on internal, non-mission critical applications.

Level 4: Cloud Advancement. Governance foundations allow organizations to scale up the volume of cloud applications through broad-based deployments in the cloud.

Level 5: Cloud Actualization. Dynamic workload balancing across multiple utility clouds. Applications are distributed based on cloud capacity, cost, proximity to user, and other criteria.

For each level, The Cloud Computing Adoption Model outlines strategic goals, investment requirements, expected returns, risk factors, and readiness criteria for advancement.

The model is highlighted in the webinar, “The Pragmatist’s Guide to Cloud Computing: A 5-Step Framework for Achieving the Strategic Value of Cloud Computing While Delivering Real ROI Along the Way.” The webinar replay is available on demand at http://searchvmware.bitpipe.com/data/document.do?res_id=1223392684_ 910&asrc=SS_BSS_HOME.

Cloud Computing Adoption Model Resources

Whitepaper: Closing the Gap Between Apps and Ops; http://www.rpath.com/corp/closing-the-gap

Cloud Computing Adoption Model: http://www.rpath.com/corp/cloud-adoption-model

News release: http://www.rpath.com/corp/news-and-events/259

Framework: http://www.rpath.com/corp/images/stories/other/rpath_ccam.pdf

Webinar replay: http://www.rpath.com/corp/cloud-adoption-model

Analyst whitepaper: http://www.rpath.com/corp/images/stories/white_papers/wp_ forresterfutureview.pdf

Commentary: http://blogs.rpath.com/wpmu/closing-the-gap/2008/10/23/the-cloud- computing-adoption-model-eating-the-elephant-one-bite-at-a-time/

For more information on rPath, please visit http://www.rpath.com.