Hewlett-Packard is teaming up with Foxconn in a strategic push to build super cloud servers for the services provider market, a burgeoning segment given the enterprise push to save money while expecting more computing performance from cloud investments.
HP CEO and President Meg Whitman, who's been busy trying to turn HP back into a stable and progressive computing titan, said the server partnership reflects a "business model innovation."
"With the relentless demands for compute capabilities, customers and partners are rapidly moving to a New Style of IT that requires focused, scalable and high-volume system designs," said Whitman. "This partnership reflects business model innovation in our server business, where the high-volume design and manufacturing expertise of Foxconn, combined with the compute and service leadership of HP, will enable us to deliver a game-changing offering in infrastructure economics."
The news comes as HP scrambles to keep up in the extremely competitive world of computing and is striving mightily to create revenue lines outside of its printer business. Whitman has told investors in the past year she believes the company has made the needed moves and has turned the corner toward better days.
The partnership focus on cloud servers may prove viable if industry analyst expectations are on the mark. Research firm IDC states service providers are striving to "break new ground" as they boost cloud architecture efforts.
According to a release the new products will target compute needs of the top services providers while offering a lower price point and needed support.
"Cloud computing is radically changing the entire supply chain for the server market as customers place new demands on the breadth of design capability, value-oriented solutions and large-scale and global manufacturing capabilities," said Terry Gou, founder and chairman, Foxconn. "In partnership with HP's server leadership, we are embracing this new opportunity to change the industry, capture growth in this emerging market, and deliver end-to-end value as we expand our global leadership in design and manufacturing."
