HP Discover 2013: OpenStack-Based HP Cloud OS To Deliver Hybrid Cloud

HP has announced an overhaul of its converged cloud strategy at HP Discover in Las Vegas, launching the OpenStack-based HP Cloud OS platform which it hopes will help deliver its vision of an open, hybrid cloud.

By creating a common architecture for use in private and public clouds, the Silicon Valley giant said HP Cloud OS will offer its customers improved workload portability, simplified installation and enhanced lifecycle management across hybrid clouds.

HP’s private cloud offering, HP Cloudsystem, is already embedded with the technology and the company is also helping customers achieve fast deployment with the HP CloudSystem Enterprise Starter Suite.

HP Cloud OS

HP Cloud OS is also compatible with HP’s public cloud service, HP Cloud Services, with customers able to access the HP Cloud OS Sandbox free of charge so they can understand the benefits of an OpenStack-based architecture.

In addition, HP Moonshot servers will also be embedded with the technology to provide simplified provisioning and management for specific cloud workloads such as dedicated hosting and large scale websites.

“In order for enterprises to deliver the new style of IT, they need control over their data, as well as flexibility in service levels and delivery models for their workloads,” said Bill Veghte, chief operations officer, HP. “Only HP has the portfolio and expertise that combines the innovative power of open systems with enterprise-grade manageability and security. The result for customers is a cloud that enterprises can rely on.”

HP anticipates that by 2016, most enterprises will be using hybrid clouds. It says that research shows that 75 percent of enterprise IT will be delivered across private, managed and public clouds, with another half believing that open standards are important. Accordingly, HP has streamlined its support services to assist companies in adopting hybrid cloud services.

The hybrid cloud

Analysts agree with HP about the growth of the hybrid cloud and have suggested HP Cloud OS could be a major differentiator among OpenStack providers.

“HP is moving its cloud offerings forward at rapid pace and with the creation of HP Cloud OS the company reaches a key milestone on its cloud journey,” said Holger Mueller, VP & principal analyst at Constellation Research. “We see a tremendous need for hybrid cloud solutions in our research at Constellation Research and HP Cloud OS caters to this demand of enterprises, to run existing systems and applications on premise in conjunction with additional cloud capacity and capabilities.

“The breadth of HP services coupled with the new Moonshot platform, gives HP enough to differentiate its offering from the crowd of OpenStack vendors, which is key for market success going forward.”

HP has made a number of other announcements at HP Discover this week, showing off new servers, storage systems and PCs, as well as a consolidated big data platform called Haven. HP CEO Meg Whitman has also discussed the firm’s ambition to become the leader in a “new style of IT” and announced a partnership with Google to deliver Google Apps for Business to SMBs.

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