SpringSource Launches CloudFoundry, an Open-Source Cloud Management Solution

VMware's cloud computing vision is beginning to take shape. SprinSource, an open-source enterprise Java software provider that was just acquired by VMware for a cool $362 million, has announced the launch of its very own cloud-deployment offering, Cloud Foundry. The new product will allow customers to build and manage Java-based applications in a public cloud.

“As the leader in enterprise Java, SpringSource offers the most complete solution set for building, deploying and managing Java applications, and today’s announcement adds a new deployment model in the cloud,” Rod Johnson, SpringSource CEO, said. “Unlike competitive offerings, our cloud service does not come with compromises; companies can deploy full-feature Java web applications, built using SpringSource tools. C-level technology executives can seamlessly add cloud computing as a strategic option as part of their development roadmap.”

The new product is based on the open-source technology Cloud Tools currently used for Java Enterprise apps on Amazon's own cloud offering, EC2. The technology was actually acquired by SpringSource a couple of months ago when it quietly bought a small open-source developer called, surprisingly, Cloud Foundry. At the moment Cloud Foundry uses Amazon's Web Services as a backend but it has plans to begin using VMware's own vSphere hypervisor as well, both for on-location deployment but also for remote cloud offerings.

Cloud Foundry is already deeply integrated with several SpringSource products. It uses the Tomcat web server for load balancing, along with Hyperic, a technology also recently acquired by SpringSource, for the management part. The product is currently in beta and is free to use, though an Amazon Web Services account is required, and will continue to remain free for an extended beta period. There is no pricing information for the final release but the company says it will be in line with current cloud service pricing.

This latest product secures SpringSource's foothold in the cloud-based service market and is a big step for VMware as well as it is now poised to offer a complete cloud solution for Java apps from virtualization technology to end-user management and deployment tools.