HP Offers Clients Private Cloud Tools, Information

Hewlett-Packard Co. is providing clients interested in deploying private clouds with a collection of readiness assessment tools, education materials, a boot camp, and access to advisors under its new Private Cloud Readiness program.

The vendor said it has crafted a private cloud scorecard that helps customers assess key factors governing their ability to create and execute a cloud strategy, such as internal knowledge of cloud concepts and services and existing cloud security capabilities.

In addition, HP plans to conduct a “boot camp” focused on the private cloud at the VMworld 2010 conference August 30 – September 2 in San Francisco, CA.

HP said that its Cloud Boot Camp, which will be held on September 2, will provide participants with information to alter their infrastructures, applications and processes for the private cloud.

HP also named six Cloud Advisors, a group the vendor said consists of the "best technical and strategic minds in cloud computing.”

The Cloud Advisors include Nigel Cook, an HP technology director and strategist and part of a leadership team heading up the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Cloud Management Working Group; Jamie Erbes, HP chief technology officer, Software and Solutions business, responsible for IT management software strategy; Archie Reed, a leader of the security component of HP’s cloud computing strategy; Lee Kedrie, HP Technology Consulting chief brand officer and evangelist; Paul Perez, HP chief technologist, enterprise storage business; and, Mark Shoemaker, an HP evangelist of business technology optimization, an advocate for how the cloud can transform business.

The vendor said that each Cloud Advisor was “hand-picked based on the innovations they influenced, their knowledge and their expertise.”

HP said that its Cloud Advisors will be available at the VMworld conference to answer client questions, provide tips on private cloud planning and discuss successful deployments.

HP said it will present more than 20 educational sessions focused on private cloud, virtualized infrastructure and client virtualization at the conference.