News: HP and Microsoft in Big Cloud Deal

Cloud computing is the order of the day, with Microsoft and HP announcing a $US250 million deal to develop a “next-generation infrastructure-to-application model” to push businesses into web-based IT.

The two companies have been working closely for some time, but the recent agreement strengthens that relationship, working together across sales, marketing and engineering.

The move is evidence that the two companies think the cloud is a big deal and are looking for ways to simplify its application.

Under the deal, HP and Microsoft will collaborate on an engineering road map for data management machines; converged, pre-packaged application solutions; comprehensive virtualization offerings; and integrated management tools.

“This agreement, which spans hardware, software and services, will enable business customers to optimize performance with push-button simplicity at the lowest possible total cost of ownership,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer, Microsoft in a statement. “Our extended partnership will transform the way large enterprises deliver services to their customers, and help smaller organizations adopt IT to grow their businesses. Microsoft and HP are betting on each other so our customers don’t have to gamble on IT.”