HP promises private cloud in 30 days
HP has launched CloudStart, a comprehensive cloud infrastructure package aimed at helping businesses set up their first private cloud using the set of complementary products.
The CloudStart package, announced on Monday, consists of HP BladeSystem Matrix servers, HP Cloud Service Automation software, data services from HP Storage Works, and other software and support services. It will allow businesses to deliver a private cloud compute service in-house within 30 days of the hardware and software installation, HP said in a statement.
"With CloudStart, HP is enabling clients to optimize applications for private cloud computing today, while providing a platform for a comprehensive, open and hybrid environment in the future," said Gary Budzinski, general manager for technology services at HP, in the statement.
HP said that the package could help companies cut the time needed to manage the private cloud by 75 percent, due to its greater automation and management, and its simplification of the processing needed to add and manage network, storage and server hardware estates.
HP has already tested the CloudStart package, alongside technologies from Intel, Samsung and VMware, for a private cloud implementation at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA. Using CloudStart, several dedicated computer clusters were able to be replaced with a single cloud environment, HP said in a statement.
On Friday, HP announced that it had acquired database application automation company Stratavia for an undisclosed sum. HP has said it expects Stratavia to play a role in its cloud service division, by providing technology to speed up the deployment and automation of databases across cloud environments. That purchase, viewed alongside HP's eager pursuit of cloud-friendly storage specialist 3Par, are signs that the hardware giant is looking to expand its cloud portfolio.
The CloudStart package is available now in Asia-Pacific and Japan and is expected to be available globally in December. Pricing has not been announced for the UK.
Red Hat has also put together a package, Red Hat Cloud Foundations, designed to help make it easier for companies to get working in the cloud. However, unlike HP's package, the Cloud Foundations toolset for mutually compatible software environments is not designed explicitly for setting up a private cloud, but instead focuses on allowing businesses to run workloads on a range of cloud platforms.