An interesting use case for WAN optimization virtual appliances came across the wire lately. Intergence, a global professional services provider, is using software virtual appliances to not only deliver integrated virtualized solutions to its customers, but also has deployed WAN optimization virtual appliances as part of its IT infrastructure which is delivered through a managed services provider. This is an exciting usage of WAN optimization virtual appliance solutions in that it demonstrates that there are no boundaries when using virtual appliances to optimize an enterprise’s IT infrastructures, even if that IT infrastructure is being hosted by a managed service over a WAN. The concepts of flexibility, scalability, and agility still apply even if you leave the enterprise’s “premise” and make use of a more cost-effective and manageable managed service. WAN optimization virtual appliances can deliver on both performance and security so there is very little stopping enterprises and managed service providers from taking full advantage of them to support hosted IT infrastructures.

Is this the wave of the future where private and public cloud computing are converging with WAN optimization virtual appliances acting as the glue that binds?