VMware vSphere 4 cloud OS to arrive this quarter

With the effort, VMware is attempting to bridge virtualized data centers--now known as "private clouds"--and growing cloud computing services from the likes of Amazon.com and others. However, this bridging process is a work in progress due to the lack of standards. VMware's big pitch is that vSphere can run your data center and allow you to bridge out when external resources are needed.

John Gilmartin, director of product marketing at VMware, said the company is hoping to ease enterprises into cloud computing without redoing architecture.