HP Rolls Out New Cloud Software

Hewlett-Packard wants to make it easier for business telecommunications service providers to realize the benefits of cloud computing.

HP on Dec. 16 announced three new software offerings that officials say also will help reduce the challenge of keeping costs in line and decrease risks, such as noncompliance and human errors.

Cloud computing offers the promise of greater flexibility and scalability in a less expensive IT environment, according to Thomas Hogan, executive vice president of HP's Software and Solutions unit. But there are hurdles that need to be cleared.

"CIOs understand the potential business benefits of cloud computing, but are challenged with how best to manage the risks associated with adoption," Hogan said in a statement Dec. 16.

According to research conducted for HP, 90 percent of corporate executives surveyed agreed that business cycles will continue to be unpredictable, and 75 percent said that would mean more demand for flexible and scalable technology, all of which plays to the strengths of cloud computing, according to HP.

The new HP offerings are designed to mitigate risk while ramping up flexibility and cost controls.

HP Operations Orchestration brings automated provisioning to services within a business' existing IT physical, virtual and cloud infrastructures. In addition, the software enables businesses in need of greater capacity to expand their internal environments to public clouds, such as Amazon.com's Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud).

Bridging internal and public clouds will be important as more businesses adopt cloud computing, according to analysts and vendors.

HP's Cloud Assure for cost control promises businesses the ability to ensure that their cloud environments meet their service-level needs while staying within their budgets.

The CAAS (Communications as a Service) software will enable telecommunications providers to offer high levels of service to small and midsize businesses on a utility model, in which the SMB pays only for what it uses.

HP's CAAS offering includes an aggregation platform, four integrated communications services from HP and other parties, and the ability to add other services.