back to article Cloudy McCloud Cloud HP just said public cloud 'makes no sense for us'

HP has finally conceded defeat in the public cloud wars, admitting that it just doesn't have what it takes to do battle with the likes of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. "We thought people would rent or buy computing from us," HP cloud boss Bill Hilf told The New York Times on Wednesday. "It turns out that it makes no sense for …

  1. phil dude
    Coat

    I wander stable as a cloud...

    The problem with cloud is 3 fold:

    1) Spying by (insert choice).

    2) Paltry internet (insert choice of monoply).

    3) Not a backup.

    1) and 2) is outside of user control, and can be considered broken politics.

    3) is the users responsibility, a might involve a tape, or at least removable media of some sort....

    P.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Swarthy

        Re: I wander stable as a cloud...

        I always read "cloud" as "file server wrapped in a S.E.P. (Somebody Else's Problem) Field".

      2. phil dude
        Pint

        Re: I wander stable as a cloud...

        Thanks ;-)

        Not a really hater...but a realist that this stuff has been greatly oversold...

        I use Owncloud at home which is nice to back up stuff from phones, tablets etc... There is a proper android client!!!! That *is* cool.

        I have also heard that for applications that are deployed this way, the scaling that is afforded by having the infrastructure in "the cloud" is incredible. You simply spin-up more machines, and the cloud feeds it.

        There may well be more scenarios that are appropriate. But as a backup?

        You're having a larf...

        P.

    2. MrXavia

      Re: I wander stable as a cloud...

      3) Cloud can be a great offsize backup location, if you only ever upload encrypted data, and keep your keys safe...

      if your running a web service and need elasticity, cloud is also great, there is no more risk of spying than on any other web host in the hosting country of your choice...

      So cloud has usages, many usages, but being your primary location to store things is not it...

  2. Nate Amsden

    one thing they may lose

    The only value I saw HP might get out of their public cloud is experience at some scale with Openstack (they said as much themselves too last year). HP's public cloud (as far as I was told) was mostly built by ex-rackspace people (since rackspace shifted focus away from openstack a few years ago to more managed services etc) who were upset with Rackspace's change in direction.

    When HP announced it, I ripped into them myself since they adopted many of the same broken designs that Amazon and others had been offering, biggest one was provisioning.

    I never used HP's cloud but I did use amazon's for a couple of years, worst experience in my career. Never again. I don't have any higher expectations for google's or microsoft's cloud either.

    IaaS in public clouds is simply broken by design. Maybe PaaS is better in that respect because it can mask some of the deficiencies of the broken IaaS. SaaS public cloud seems the most mature, masking even the failures of the PaaS and IaaS. But of course as you move from IaaS to PaaS to SaaS you lose ever more flexibility and control, for some that is a good thing for many it is probably not.

    To-date the only model I have seen give actual good results is SaaS, but of course the scope of products in that space is relatively limited. The company I work for has moved off of multiple SaaS platforms to in house solutions because the SaaS wasn't flexible enough.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: one thing they may lose

      I'll have to reprimand you! So much content and not once did you write anything about 3PAR.

      We'll have to change your compensation model

      Tool

      1. Nate Amsden

        Re: one thing they may lose

        I'll forfeit my pay for the week..

  3. Kev99 Silver badge

    Before everyone thought the internet was the be all to end all and thought it was safe and secure, companies used private networks over dedicated phone lines. It appears HP may have come to its senses about slapping everything into that giant sieve known as the internet or "cloud". Or not. I'm sure a dedicated private network would be just as fast as the 'net since both run over AT&T and children's copper.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    HILF: The dumbest man in tech

    Bill Hilf is probably the dumbest enterprise executive in the industry. He simply can't stop himself from sticking his foot in his mouth at every opportunity. Remember when he was at Microsoft and said "The Free Software movement is dead". Yeah, this is the clown in charge of HP Open Source cloud and the reason why HP's cloud strategy changes EVERY SIX MONTHS. There is no reason for employees or customers to have any confidence in HP's cloud strategy as long as Hilf is in charge.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: HILF: The dumbest man in tech

      I think you may be confusing the disease with the symptoms here. Imagine having to be the public face of HP, always having to justify their internal turmoil as planned strategy. At least Hilf probably gets paid more than Nate to shill...

    2. Mikel

      Re: HILF: The dumbest man in tech

      Brought over by fellow Softie Bill Veghte, who I have been calling a Trojan Horse of the Elop school from day one.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    makes no sense

    It makes no sense, it clouds the issue.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yep, my HP inkjet is an 'engineered system', engineered to waste ink that is.

  7. Mikel

    News from the future

    Bill Veghte inherits HP's profitless client PC unit. Immediately bets the farm on W10 to the exclusion of all else. W10 is as popular as Vista, running the company into the ground. Veghte returns to Redmond the conquering hero, dragging the corpse behind him. 95% of staff are made redundant on arrival. The acquisition is written down shortly thereafter.

    It's like we've seen this movie before. Was Matt Damon in the first one?

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