VARs question whether HP is too late to cloud

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Value added resources are heralding HP's recent announcement to begin offering public cloud computing services, but some question whether the computing giant has waited too long to make a dent in the rapidly growing market, CRN reports.

According to the report, HP faces some stiff competition in the cloud from already-established companies, including Microsoft, Google, Oracle and others, many of whom have been in the game for years.

"To me it's kind of a no-brainer for them," Model Metrics chief technology officer John Barnes told the news provider. "But it seemed a little bit of a too late to the party."

If HP does prove successful, it will likely be because of its three-part cloud computing strategy. At an event earlier this month, HP CEO Leo Apotheker said his company's strategy will focus on helping customers transition to the cloud, leveraging the webOS operating system and providing a strong software offering to customers.

With its decision to focus more on cloud computing, HP joins a burgeoning market that is likely to place a major role in enterprise IT for years to come. According to a report from Markets and Markets, the global cloud market will be worth $121.1 billion by 2015.