EMC, Cisco Name Capellas to Lead Acadia Private Cloud Venture

EMC (NYSE: EMC) and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) are showing they’re serious about their joint “Acadia” venture by naming industry veteran Michael Capellas to run the new organization.

The venture, which also includes EMC subsidiary VMware (NYSE: VMW), was set up to sell and support “Vblock” systems that combine Cisco’s Unified Computing Systems (UCS) and switches, EMC storage and security and VMware virtualization technology.

The appointment of Capellas as CEO of Acadia suggests big ambitions for what the companies call the Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) coalition, which also includes investment from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). Capellas, who has held top posts at HP, Compaq, MCI and First Data Corp., will also lead the VCE coalition. Capellas also serves on Cisco’s board.

EMC officials aren’t talking about the appointment beyond a press release that was issued late last night. Capellas will attend EMC World next week, but he won’t be speaking at the conference.

Capellas will be responsible for customer and partner adoption of the coalition’s solutions, including Vblock packages. He will report to EMC CEO Joe Tucci, Cisco CEO John Chambers and the Acadia board.

Cisco and EMC claim “strong market acceptance” for Vblock, including 45 partners and six system integrators and some 200 additional partners in the certification phase. The companies estimate that the total market for “private cloud” infrastructures targeted by the coalition will grow to $85 billion by 2015.

Chambers said in a statement that the appointment of Capellas “underscores our long-term commitment to deliver a seamless engagement model for customers and partners to access the advanced technologies, support and services they have come to expect from Cisco and EMC. As we work together with VMware and other key partners to help our customers realize the potential of the private cloud, we couldn’t be more confident in the value of the VCE coalition with a leader of Michael’s distinction at the helm.”

Capellas stated, “There’s never been a better time to be in the heart of the industry helping customers take advantage of the next great wave of information technology innovation, the private cloud. The experience I’ve gained working and leading amazing companies will allow me to foster this truly unique opportunity. With unmatched talent, financial resources and industry-leading technologies from three visionary companies, we can change the face of IT.”

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