Gale Technologies Talks Next-Gen Automation Software at Cloud Connect

If there’s one thing to take home from our conversation with Gale Technologies (News - Alert) at this week’s Cloud Connect, it’s that the infrastructure automation software solutions company is a “force” to be reckoned with.

On the second day of Cloud Connect – an event bringing together the entire cloud ecosystem to better comprehend how companies are addressing the cloud transformation -- TMCnet had the opportunity to sit down with Garima Thockchom, vice president of marketing for Gale Technologies. Not only did Thockchom share some insight into the company’s next-generation launch of its renowned GaleForce solution, but she also shed some light on where the cloud industry stands today.

For three years, GaleForce has been the standout product of Gale Technologies, a mature cloud company with roots in network automation. Thockchom dubs GaleForce as a “practical cloud solution,” as it creates private clouds of a customers’ existing environment, eliminating the need for major infrastructure re-architecting.

Late last month, the company released GaleForce 6.0, the next-generation version of the solution that includes expanded support for virtualization technologies and additional ease-of-use features, including VMware provisioning support, orchestration capabilities, out-of-box workflows and reporting functionality, platform extensibility, as well as an enhanced user interface.

"Nearly all environments today are a mix of physical and virtual, driving the need for cloud software to manage both physical and virtual resources with equal sophistication. In addition, with the growing acceptance of automation solutions, there is also an increasing demand for cloud automation software to be highly extensible and usable," said Akhil Sahai, vice president of product management at Gale Technologies, in a statement upon the product launch. "We are pleased to release GaleForce 6.0, our next generation automation software that is specifically designed for the cloud administrator who wants to quickly and reliably build private or hybrid clouds out of both legacy and new infrastructure, with an advanced, extensible, and yet intuitive tool."

According to Thockchom, the company boasts a lineup of “marquee” customers using GaleForce for their demanding environments, including reputable players like Cisco (News - Alert) and NetApp.

This week, Gale Technologies is capitalizing on Cloud Connect to spread the word on GaleForce 6.0, as well as Cloud Scheduler, the company’s new tool built for IT administrators to ease virtual machine reservation and scheduling in dynamic VMware environments. End-users can now download Cloud Scheduler for free at cloudscheduler.com, and start maximizing the utilization of virtualized infrastructure and automating repetitive tasks associated with provisioning VMs.

“Cloud Scheduler schedules a virtual machine based on a time slot and the user’s capacity needs. We are the only solution that schedules VM for a specified period of time,” Thockchom told TMCnet.

“The conversion rate in a week [for Cloud Scheduler] has been twice as much as we expected,” she added.

When asked where she sees the cloud headed in the next few years, Thockchom said she predicts individuals will become increasingly comfortable with automation, and at some point will be fully ready to introduce the cloud in production-like environments, rather than solely non-mission-critical ones.

As for the message Gale Technologies hopes to spread at this week’s show, Thockchom said, “Gale Technologies is mature cloud provider. We have seen a great deal of customers, and analyst and media traction. We’re really looking forward to 2012 with the priorities we’ve set for ourselves.”

Gale Technologies is currently displaying its Cloud Scheduler at booth No. 322.

Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Chris DiMarco