Abstract: Techniques for intelligent service deployment are provided. Cloud and service data are evaluated to develop a service deployment plan for deploying a service to a target cloud processing environment. When dictated by the plan or by events that trigger deployment, the service is deployed to the target cloud processing environment in accordance with the service deployment plan.

Abstract: The system and method described herein may identify one or more virtual desktop extensions available in a cloud computing environment and launch virtual machine instances to host the available virtual desktop extensions in the cloud. For example, a virtual desktop extension manager may receive a virtual desktop extension request from a client desktop and determine whether authentication credentials for the client desktop indicate that the client desktop has access to the requested virtual desktop extension. In response to authenticating the client desktop, the virtual desktop extension manager may then launch a virtual machine instance to host the virtual desktop extension in the cloud and provide the client desktop with information for locally controlling the virtual desktop extension remotely hosted in the cloud.

Abstract: Techniques for dynamic disk personalization are provided. A virtual image that is used to create an instance of a virtual machine (VM) is altered so that disk access operations are intercepted within the VM and redirected to a service that is external to the VM. The external service manages a personalized storage for a principal, the personalized storage used to personalize the virtual image without altering the virtual image.

Abstract: The system and method for controlling cloud and virtualized data centers described herein may include a computing environment having a model-driven, service-oriented architecture for creating collaborative threads to manage workloads, and further to creating cloud images having embedded management agents and identity services for validating the cloud images prior to deployment into the cloud and virtualized data centers and controlling, monitoring, and auditing activity associated with the cloud images following deployment into the cloud and virtualized data centers.