HP has joined in the fray of free open-source technology known as OpenStack, to offer cloud software and services under HP Helion portfolio, allowing companies to build, manage and consume workloads in hybrid IT environments.
The company plans to invest more than $1bn over the next two years to support and deliver new open source cloud products and platforms.
Founded by Rackspace Hosting and NASA with HP being founding member, OpenStack is collaboration of developers and cloud computing experts, developing open source cloud computing platform for public and private clouds.
The project aims to deliver cloud solutions which are scalable and simple to implement, allowing organisations to create and offer cloud computing services on standard hardware.
HP executive vice president and chief technology officer Martin Fink said customer challenges today extend beyond cloud.
"They include how to manage, control and scale applications in a hybrid environment that spans multiple technology approaches," Fink added.
"HP Helion provides the solutions and expertise customers need to select the right deployment model for their needs and obtain the greatest return for their investment."
HP Helion will be a unified portfolio incorporating HP’s existing cloud offerings, new OpenStack technology-based products, and professional and support services.
As part of the initiative, the company has released free version of HP Helion OpenStack Community edition which could be used for proofs of concept, pilots and basic production workloads, while the enhanced version will be released later.
HP Helion OpenStack-based cloud services will be available through company’s partner network and its own data centres while it plans to offer OpenStack-based public cloud services in 20 data centres worldwide over the next 18 months.
The company plans to release a preview version of HP Helion Development Platform later this year, which is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) based on Cloud Foundry.
It has also launched HP Helion OpenStack Professional Services to help customers with cloud planning, implementation and operational needs.
