New HP Cloud Services Strategy Loaded With Managed Services

The HP Converged Cloud and HP Public Cloud strategies, announced today, are loaded with managed services offerings that Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) will promote to enterprise customers. The big question: Will HP allow partners to resell those managed enterprise services?

Most folks know the big-picture strategy: HP is leveraging OpenStack, MySQL and other open standards across its public, hybrid and private cloud efforts. But dig a little deeper and you’ll notice that HP Cloud Services also include several managed services. New examples include:

• HP Cloud Maps, which allows customers to select from pre-packaged application templates for “push button” application deployment.
• An HP Service Virtualization 2.0, which allows partners and customers to test cloud and mobile applications without disrupting production systems. Rewind a year or two, and I believe Doyenz‘s original focus was on that type of testing and deployment model for MSPs assisting customers with software and application migrations. These days, Doyenz competes with a range of companies in the cloud-based business continuity market.
• An HP Virtual Network Protection Service provides security at the network virtualization management layer. Yes, this sounds like a managed network security service.
• The HP Network Cloud Optimization Service helps customers to enhance their network to improve cloud-based service delivery.
• HP Enterprise Cloud Services will allow customers to outsource cloud management to HP. This sounds like the biggest managed service of all. I don’t know if HP will manage both public cloud and private cloud environments for customers. We’re checking.

That’s a sampling of HP’s new cloud-oriented managed services. I don’t have a feel for how HP will engage or promote those services through managed services providers. But HP is expected to be on hand at next week’s OpenStack Design Summit and Conference (April 16-20, San Francisco). MSPmentor will be poking around and listening closely to more cloud- and managed services partner program clues from HP.