Hewlett-Packard is preparing to launch a cloud computing platform that will compete directly with Amazon Web Services. The project, which which will be more business-oriented than AWS, is expected to launch by May, according to the HP executive in charge of the program.
In an interview with The New York Times, HP’s senior vice president and manager of cloud services Zorawar Singh said that the goal of the project is not to compete directly with Amazon, but to go above and beyond what Amazon offers. HP’s cloud platform will offer a variety of tools for businesses and developers, including support for a variety of software languages like Java and Ruby, database and data analytics tools.
HP has apparently had this project in the works for some time. The project is meant to be a new way for HP to compete with Amazon’s cloud, as well as to compete with some of HP’s other, more traditional competitors, including IBM and Oracle. HP wants to offer a wider array of tools at a better price than any of its competitors in the market.
HP has struggled in recent years thanks to a series of under-performing products and mismanagement by recent CEOs. Current CEO Meg Whitman has taken several steps to get HP back on track. Though this new cloud platform is one of them, the short-term goal of the project is not to have a major impact on HP’s overall revenue. Rather, Singh said, the goal is as much to help HP’s other divisions do their own business as it is to generate revenue.
