Data center virtualization may be a pot of gold to some out there, but for others it simply could not produce a meaningful revenue stream despite some bold new ideas.

The latest casualty is Cassatt Corp., which tried to make a go with real-time end-to-end management of both virtual and, later, cloud infrastructures. Founder William Coleman said on Monday that the venture is likely to shut down in the near future after six year of operation.

Coleman told Forbes Magazine that the main reason for the failure was the radical nature of the company's technology, which often required a significant commitment on the customer's part and a fair amount of hardware and software overhaul.

It's hard to say what will come of the company's technology, which consists mainly of policy-driven software and services aimed at automated management of both data and infrastructure, which some say presaged the transition from grid or utility computing to the modern cloud concept. Williams has said he is talking with potential buyers, but odds are long that the company will be sold off intact.

If anything, Cassatt is a lesson that strong technology is not everything when it comes to making a go in this business. You need a smooth way to integrate it into existing environments as well.