HP joins Dell and Cisco in OpenStack cloud alliance

HP has confirmed that it will join the OpenStack alliance and develop open source systems for cloud computing applications.

The announcement, made during the OSCON 2011 conference, will be a huge boost to the project, which began as a way of building simple, efficient, open source server hardware and software to improve cloud computing.

"HP is in a unique position to bring together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the point where cloud and connectivity converge," said Emil Sayegh, HP's vice president of cloud services, in a blog post.

"HP recognises that open and interoperable cloud infrastructure and services are critical in delivering the next generation of cloud-based services to developers, businesses and consumers."

Sayegh added that close collaboration with developer communities, combined with HP's global portfolio, are "cornerstones to delivering the right, seamless and secure experiences for our customers".

HP joins companies including Dell, Cisco, Facebook, Canonical and Rackspace in promoting the OpenStack architecture. The project has the backing of nearly 100 organisations, and more than 1,200 contributing staff.

"It's been an amazing year. We've been shocked at how quickly things have moved," Mark Collier, vice president of business development at Rackspace, told V3.

"I thought the stage we are at might be something we'd see in five years, not the one that we've had so far. There's still lots of opportunity to make money in the technology business. Open is a better way to do business."