HP boosts storage offerings for software-defined datacenters

HP is rolling out a series of technologies for software-defined datacenters, including storage offerings and a new entry-level all-flash array.

The tech giant is aiming to carve its place in the software-defined storage market with tools it touts as efficient and competitively priced.

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HP said it will now feature HP StoreVirtual VSAs as a fully integrated storage option for HP Helion OpenStack and its community edition. The company also said it has enhanced HP StoreVirtual Storage hypervisor integration and released a new HP StoreOnce VSA license that cuts backup costs by 86 percent for small and remote sites.

As for the flash arrays, HP said a new price structure will remove cost barriers to flash storage adoption. The company is offering the HP 3PAR StoreServ 7200 all-flash starter kit at a base price of $35,000, and will continue to collaborate with VMware to integrate the kit on its planned Virtual Volumes (VVols) storage architecture.

"As customers move to the software-defined datacenter, they face gaps with legacy hardware-oriented storage," said David Scott, SVP and GM of HP Storage, in a statement. "For increased agility, HP delivers software-defined storage via VSAs that optimize cost and all-flash, service-refined storage to optimize service levels — both orchestrated with common tools."

Like all of the other enterprise tech players, HP is betting high on the success of its Software-as-a-Service and subscription-based offerings, with CEO Meg Whitman noting this week during the company's Q3 earnings call that the space could stir up "near-term revenue headwinds," and position HP for "long-term success."