HP Takes Blade Technology Into Utility Computing

"We're announcing that we're taking the capabilities of HP's Utility Data Center and offering them in modules that are low cost and easy to deploy," says Ann Livermore, executive vice president of HP's Technology Solutions Group.

Specifically, HP is rolling out four offerings. The first combines its BladeSystem hardware with the company's HP Systems Insight Manager software. The bundle provides a single software "console" that can configure and dynamically allocate CPU, storage and networking resources.

Such provisioning is the heart of utility computing. Also know as on-demand computing, the technology reallocates processing power and storage capacity across a network on an as-needed basis to ensure applications have adequate resources to keep running.

The second leg of HP's modularized offerings is the HP Virtual Server Environment. The software support utility computing on HP's Integrity family of servers.

HP's third module is drawn from its OpenView software and consists of a package of systems-management and resource-allocation tools.

Finally, HP plans to sell services around utility computing. It's offering a bargain rate of $1,600 for a one-day assessment of small installations and says it will deliver pay-as-you-go computing services through its managed services group.

"We're taking utility computing and bringing it as a volume play to the masses," Livermore says.

"We believe this is going to be one of the single largest growth areas in enterprise computing," adds Rick Becker, the new vice president of HP's BladeSystem division.