3PAR, a provider of utility storage, has revealed the 3PAR Cloud-Agile program, a new partnership initiative to promote the adoption of cloud computing and cloud-based services offered by providers with infrastructures by 3PAR Utility Storage.

The 3PAR Cloud-Agile program gives partners the opportunity to promote differentiated virtual private array (VPA) and disaster recovery (DR) offerings under the respective names 3PAR Cloud-Agile: SECURED and 3PAR Cloud-Agile: ASSURED.

The company said that it created the Cloud-Agile program in response to an increase in demand for enterprise IT delivered as a utility service and a corresponding uptake in 3PAR Utility Storage adoption among IT hosting providers.

The Cloud-Agile program is reportedly designed to raise awareness for the cost and agility benefits of cloud computing services and encourage the development of a mutually beneficial cloud computing ecosystem. Program participation is limited to hosting providers using 3PAR Utility Storage as a strategic element of their cloud-based service offerings.

Benjamin Woo, IDC vice president of Enterprise Storage Systems, said: We see that interest in cloud computing services has risen as capital budgets have come under pressure and companies have looked to move enterprise IT costs to a variable basis that aligns more closely with actual business performance. Given 3PAR’s focus and success with service providers, this corresponds well with the introduction of 3PAR’s Cloud-Agile program.

Jason Lochhead, CTO of Hosting Services at Terremark, said: As a charter member of the Cloud-Agile program we look forward to working closely with 3PAR to further promote and enhance our portfolio of value-added cloud and managed storage services to better meet the changing needs of our customers.

The company claimed that 3PAR Utility Storage also contributes to savings on facilities and infrastructure costs while reducing storage administration time for 3PAR Cloud-Agile partners, which means improved time-to-revenue, lower storage total cost of ownership (TCO), and alignment between costs and revenues.

Simon Hansford, VP of products and marketing at Attenda, said: The decision to invest in the 3PAR platform has cut our capacity and array purchase requirements by at least 60% as compared to other systems.

Under the program, participants will receive technical training to improve the quality of the cloud-based services that these providers are able to offer to end users. The program also offers a combination of lead sharing, sales training, and joint marketing to increase selling opportunities and grow awareness of the benefits of cloud computing.

In addition, participating providers have the opportunity to offer services built on 3PAR Utility Storage under the names 3PAR Cloud-Agile: SECURED and 3PAR Cloud-Agile: ASSURED, the company said.