Simon Crosby, Citrix’s CTO for data centres, gave an interesting interview to ITPRO’s Nicole Kobie last week.

In the conversation, he explains why, no matter how you look at it, virtualisation is key to cloud computing and reports on some cuckoo-like behaviour causing concern within the channel.

Including an interesting case study from the construction firm Bechter, this interview is worth taking time out to read.

All I would add is that, if virtualisation is the accepted methodology to provide cloud computing, then make sure that your virtualisation platform is ultra reliable. By definition, if many applications are to be serviced by a single platform, then that platform must always be available and cannot have any single points of failure – e.g. it must always be on.

Sounds obvious I know, but if comments such as “availability is a swings and roundabout argument” are taken out of context, we could all end up in cloud cuckoo land…