Today, HP takes a huge step forward to address the broad and evolving enterprise cloud demand through their HP Helion announcement. HP Helion presents HP’s strategy to provide a comprehensive cloud portfolio. As HP’s CEO Meg Whitman mentioned, “HP is in it to win.” HP is investing over $1b in their cloud-based solutions. It’s clear that HP is working hard to win the new enterprise game.
Traditional IT demand is not going away, but the demand for cloud is increasing. Most enterprises struggle to leverage traditional IT while adopting Transformational IT. Providers, such as HP, need to address this complex and hybrid approach. With Helion, HP ups the ante in addressing this demand.
Today, HP launches their Helion brand encompassing their entire cloud portfolio. The formerly know HP Cloud solution is now part of the Helion branding. But the key change isn’t the branding change. It’s the end-to-end products that address an enterprise’s needs regardless of their state of cloud adoption.
Open Source Software Part of HP’s Strategy
HP’s commitment to OpenStack is not new. They have two board members as part of the OpenStack Foundation. And their further commitment to embrace OpenStack as part of their core cloud offerings furthers both HP and the OpenStack movement as a whole. OpenStack is a key opportunity for enterprises and service providers alike. However, open source software, and specifically OpenStack has presented significant challenges for enterprise adoption.
One of the first solutions from HP is their OpenStack Community Edition (OCE). OCE is intended for entry-level use up to 30 nodes. OCE is an approachable way for enterprises interested in OpenStack to get started. For enterprises interested in going beyond 30 nodes, HP’s commercial solution bridges the gap.
OCE is not only open source, but supported by HP. It’s also one of the first distributions based on the OpenStack Icehouse release. HP intends to ship updates every six weeks, which will keep the distribution fresh. HP OCE is available today as a free download.
Also announced today was HP’s commitment to Cloud Foundry. Cloud Foundry presents an additional opportunity for enterprises to embrace cloud through PaaS. For many enterprises, PaaS presents the solution between a core infrastructure solution and SaaS solutions. Plus, PaaS provides portability for applications based on a specific platform.
In Summary
HP Helion presents one of the most comprehensive end-to-end solutions for enterprises today. OpenStack is very interesting for enterprises, but difficult to consume. Helion lowers the bar and gives enterprises options they’ve been clamoring for.