HP unveils hybrid cloud vision
Vendor reveals how partners will fit into its new private cloud-as-a-service offering
HP is launching a hybrid cloud service that partners can either resell or white label to enterprise customers.
The vendor unveiled its "private cloud-as-a-service" offering, HP Enterprise Cloud Services Compute (ECSC), today at an event in central London.
Set for launch next month, the service will be based on the vendor's Converged Infrastructure architecture and hosted within one of its UK datacentres.
HP claims ECSC has been tailor-made to provide enterprise customers with the "security, privacy and service assurances" needed to make cloud computing a viable option.
David Chalmers, chief technology officer for HP servers, storage and networking, said the launch was proof of the vendor's commitment to cloud.
He said: "While the whole world has been talking about cloud computing, HP has actually been doing something about it, talking to customers, doing research and a lot of work behind the scenes.
"The crucial word for us is hybrid – the more we talk to customers and prospects, the more we have come to realise that there is not just a single solution to the cloud."
Partners will be able to white label the service or resell it to customers under the HP banner on a monthly basis.
Mateen Greenway, chief technologies for EMEA defence, security, government and healthcare at HP, said the vendor intends to offer other subscription options in the future.
He said: "We're starting with that [pay monthly] model today, but we are planning to introduce pay-for-use, pay-for-consumption, grow-as-much-as-you-like models as part of the upgrades to the service."
The percentage of these subscriptions that partners receive will depend on how involved they are with the service's delivery.
Greenway explained: "The issue there is to do with who owns which bit of the risk. Does the service provider want to take a no-risk option where we do all the work and they just have their name on the tin, or do they want a bigger share of that risk?"
However, partners that start offering the services straightaway on a "low-risk basis" will be given the option to take on more responsibility as and when they want to, added Chalmers.
"A lot of partners are not sure when they start out. As they get more confident and experienced, we can change that model in the future so they can take home more of the margin," he explained.
The unveiling of HP ECSC comes after the vendor hinted it would build a formal cloud component into its Preferred Partner Programme from its next financial year.
Speaking to CRN earlier this month, Kevin Matthews, HP UK and Ireland channel manager for enterprise storage, servers and networking, said the move was necessary to reflect the changing behaviour of its reseller partners.
He said: "Whereas a partner used to be a reseller of our product, what they are doing now is buying our product but using it to resell a service. The product doesn't go that extra step to the customer."