HP and Microsoft enter the computing cloud

HP and Microsoft have signed a $250 million, three year agreement to drive forward business cloud computing and virtualisation.

Cloud computing is where the majority of information-like documents are stored and exchanged online.

Services like Google Documents are already a great success in the consumer sector and now Microsoft is looking to encourage business customers to climb into the cloud.

Virtualisation means taking computer processes away from a physical machine at a business’ premises, and using virtually run servers.

Both can save space and money, but can leave businesses vulnerable to (exceptionally rare) failures.

“HP and Microsoft will collaborate on the Windows Azure platform, with HP and Microsoft offering services, and Microsoft continuing to invest in HP hardware for Windows Azure infrastructure”, according to the Microsoft press release.

It means guaranteed business, and profit, for the two industry giants. For customers Microsoft promise that it will “eliminate complexities of IT management and automate existing manual processes to lower the overall costs”.

The two companies are also rolling out finance initiatives to encourage businesses to take up the new technology, and business customers will have access to HP’s 11,000 Microsoft certified professionals, which should boost support.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, said: “Our extended partnership will transform the way large enterprises deliver services to their customers, and help smaller organisations adopt IT to grow their businesses.

“Microsoft and HP are betting on each other so our customers don’t have to gamble on IT.”

Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President, Management and Services Division, wrote in his blog that, as one of the “main architects of the agreement” Microsoft and HP sought “to deliver no less than a next-generation computing platform. The goal is to lead the adoption of cloud computing while helping companies realize immediate business benefits through IT.

“With this partnership the two companies are working toward new models for application delivery, hardware architecture and IT operations.”

It represents a tenfold investment increase on existing projects between the two companies.

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