HP Software To Boost Cloud Computing For SMBs

HP Operations Orchestration and HP Cloud Assure for cost control are designed to help companies take better advantage of cloud computing's inherent flexibility and elasticity, while mitigating potential risks.The goal of both products, according Paul Muller, HP's vice president of strategic marketing, software products for HP Software & Solutions, is to help startups tap into the cloud to gain the power and reach of the enterprise, and to help existing businesses move at the speed of a startup.

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HP Operations Orchestration is traditional on-premises software that automates the tasks IT uses to run its data centers -- and extends that capability to the physical, virtual, or cloud based resources as needed to respond to changing business conditions. The product will support Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) "out of the box," Muller said, but wouldn't reveal plans for other cloud infrastructure vendors.

HP Cloud Assure for cost control -- delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS) is intended to help cloud computing users test their cloud-based services for performance as loads grow -- to be sure the services will work as expected at the lowest possible cost.

Able to work with the majority of cloud based services available today, the idea is let cloud users buy the right cloud products, configurations, sizes, and costs for their needs. While "we don't discuss pricing," Muller said, Cloud Assure will have a "fine-grained pricing structure for businesses small and large." he explained.

The company is also announcing HP Communications as a Service (CaaS), which is aimed at telecom carriers. Muller says it will lead to new cloud-based offerings -- including interactive voice response, video surveillance, unified communications, and call center technology -- from these companies beginning as soon as mid-2010.

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