When you talk about revolutionizing IT economics, cloud storage solutions will always be the centrifugal force in the discussion. With mounting demand, virtualizing cloud storage solutions becomes a tight race between companies who want to get ahead of the competition. Accompanied by a few other factors, this is an important revelation indicating the direction in which the technology sector is heading.

And while virtualization isn’t software and hardware mogul Hewlett Packard’s forte, they intend to dominate this space at all levels. This message was made crystal clear in the recently concluded HP Discover, where their converged storage sets stage for “infrastructure 2.0”.  HP has a long road ahead of it, and a recent Wikibon article puts HP’s VMware storage arsenal reinforcement under the spotlight.

Seasoned analyst Stu Miniman provided fruitful insights on HP’s current situation and how organizations should respond to the shifting of trends in cloud storage. He said, “The rapid changes in the marketplace open opportunities for users to change the way that they do things and for vendors to change the competitive field. The advice for users is that just as legacy infrastructure and processes should not prevent companies from taking advantage of new technology, both new and existing vendor solutions should be examined.”

HP is developing an affinity for the cloud, investing over $2 billion in infrastructures. They are also keen on taking down opponents, especially since fast-recovering Dell has already pledged its interest in cloud storage as one factor towards harmonizing its portfolio. Other companies have also been beefing up their weapons for the virtualization and storage wars. VMware’s colossal blueprints are beginning to touch base with reality with its latest Hypervisor launches expected to kick-off this week.

Proof that open virtualization is gaining traction is Open Virtualization Alliance, garnering strong support from 65 members across a wide spectrum. Brocade and NetApp accelerate features and extended value through simplifying cloud storage, as demand soars exponentially. Data deduplication is also seen as a potential cost-effective measure for cloud storage.

The global love spreading around the virtualization of cloud storage solutions seems inevitable at all levels. Even start-up deployments focus on this hot topic as it continues to alter the corporate landscape. With big names also playing their cards, will there be enough breathing room for those who want to try it out? Well, the demand says yes. But, efficiency will probably be the biggest definition between success and failure.