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Cloud computing news
HP’s Revised Proposal of $33 per Share Values 3PAR at $2.4 billion
Sep 2nd
HP Wins 3Par At $33, Beats Dell
Until this morning, Dell and Hewlett-Packard were mired in a bidding war over 3Par, a leading provider of utility storage solutions for enterprises. With a final bid of $2.4 billion for the company, HP has emerged the winner. Below we highlight the significance of 3Par and how it may impact HP’s storage in the future.
Utility storage primer
Utility storage is a category of data storage systems designed for utility computing, a form of information technology in which storage and computation are delivered as a metered service, rather like a power utility. 3Par’s unique storage technology powers so-called virtual data centers for mid-sized to large enterprises, including financial service firms, government entities, hosted computing providers, and consumer-oriented Internet companies.
3Par’s value proposition is based on the premise that unused storage is wasteful. Conventional data centers typically use just 10% to 25% of allocated disk space. By contrast, 3Par’s technology allocates disk space only when applications need storage capacity, reducing the total cost of storage by up to 50% according to the company.
As more enterprises shut down their in-house data centers and turn to on-demand storage and computing services delivered via the Internet, their storage needs become more variable and less predictable. This makes 3Par a great fit for the cloud computing era, which helps explain why HP and Dell are competing so fiercely to acquire the company’s proprietary technology.
Why were Dell & HP chasing 3Par?
(Source Forbes)
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Amazon AWS Lowers On-Demand and Reserved Prices
Sep 2nd
Amazon AWS Lowers On-Demand and Reserved Prices
Effective immediately, we have lowered the On-Demand and Reserved prices for High Memory Double Extra Large (m2.2xlarge) and Quadruple Extra Large (m2.4xlarge) instances for Linux/UNIX and Windows by up to 19%. If you have existing Reserved Instances, your hourly usage rate starting 
September 1st will be lowered to the new usage rate and your estimated bill will reflect these changes later this month. We continuously strive to be more efficient, and are excited to pass cost savings on to you in the form of lower prices.
Beyond this price reduction, there are several other ways that you can save money when using Amazon EC2. Compared to On-Demand instance pricing, Reserved Instances enable you to reduce the cost of your instances by up to 56%. When using Reserved Instances, you pay a low, one-time fee and in turn receive a significant discount on the hourly usage charge for that instance during a 1 or 3 years period. After the one-time payment for an instance, that instance is reserved for you; you may choose to run that instance for the discounted usage rate for the duration of your term, or when you do not use the instance, you will not pay usage charges on it. Spot Instances also are available, which allow you to bid on unused Amazon EC2 capacity and run your instances for as long as your bid exceeds the current Spot Price. For customers who have flexibility in when they can run their instances, Spot Instances can significantly lower their Amazon EC2 costs.
You can find more detailed information about these options at http://aws.amazon.com/ec2.
Source Amazon
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Sony Challenges Apple ITunes with New Cloud Based Digital Service.
Sep 2nd
Sony Challenges Apple ITunes with New Cloud Based Digital Service.
Sony has made an announcement at the at the IFA conference in Berlin. They have announced that they will be competing with Apple iTunes by offering an 
unlimited cloud-based music service which will be accessible through the PS3 and other cloud connected mobile devices. This new service will be powered by Qriocity and be available later this year and is the 1st major step by anyone looking to challenge iTunes for the digital music download market.
“We are excited to offer our customers high quality, cloud-based entertainment experiences across many of Sony’s network-enabled devices,” said Kazuo Hirai, President of Networked Products & Services Group, Sony Corporation. “Services ‘powered by Qriocity’ will revolutionize the way that users play, listen, watch, share, communicate, learn, discover and create their digital entertainment content.”
Stay tuned for future developments…
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Salesforce.com Announces Cloudforce 2010
Sep 1st
Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff to deliver keynote
Global industry leaders from BMC and CA to present at 8th September event
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 01, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Salesforce.com (CRM 116.40, +6.52, +5.93%) , the enterprise cloud computing company, today announced Cloudforce 2010: London, the largest cloud computing event in the UK. This industry, customer and developer event is being held on Wednesday, 8th September, 2010 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre in London.
With the arrival of Salesforce Chatter, this landmark event will showcase Cloud 2 technologies, the next generation of enterprise cloud computing that is social, mobile and real-time. Industry leaders including BMC and CA will participate alongside salesforce.com to deliver their vision of this next-generation of enterprise computing, and attendees will also hear from visionary business leaders on how Chatter is delivering a better way to work in the enterprise. Cloudforce 2010: London will provide the roadmap for cloud computing in the UK by bringing together industry luminaries, more than 35 cloud leaders on the tradeshow floor and 17 expert-led breakout sessions.
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Save $100 and join CloudTweaks at All About Mobile
Sep 1st
Save $100 and join CloudTweaks at All About Mobile, the ISV conference for mobile business, produced by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and taking place November 16-17, 2010 in San Jose, California.
ISVs large and small have already begun to transition software and cloud-based applications for use on mobile devices. In fact, in today’s marketplace, we ALL need to have a mobile strategy, which is why we are proud to support this unique industry conference and hope to see you there!
To take advantage of our $100 discount, enter promotional code PRMCTWE when you register online here. (Note: this discount is valid off the individual SIIA non-member rate only and does not apply to current attendees.)
You’ll save even more with early-bird rates through October 18.
All About Mobile features a robust conference agenda with keynotes from Microsoft and Sprint. And you’ll network with top executives from ISVs, carriers, platform providers, and infrastructure providers — along with the industry’s leading analysts, venture capitalists and media — all gathering to explore, debate and discuss the mobile movement.
For details, visit www.AllAboutMobile.net
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HP Launches CloudStart to Fast Track Private Clouds
Aug 30th
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30, 2010
HP today announced HP CloudStart, the industry’s first all-in-one solution for deploying an open and flexible private cloud environment within 30 days.
Built on an HP Converged Infrastructure, HP CloudStart simplifies and speeds private cloud deployments. Consisting of hardware, software and services, HP CloudStart empowers businesses to deliver pay-per-use services reliably and securely from a common portal, and it offers the ability to scale and deploy new services automatically. Real-time access to consumption and chargeback reports allows clients to operate their private clouds in the same fashion as a public cloud.
With HP’s open architecture approach, clients are able to integrate their private clouds with third-party enterprise portals, public cloud services, usage billing packages and multiplatform resource management.
“To better serve the needs of their enterprises, clients are asking us to help them become internal service providers with the ability to deliver applications through a highly flexible private cloud environment,” said Gary M. Budzinski, senior vice president and general manager, Technology Services, HP. “With CloudStart, HP is enabling clients to optimize applications for private cloud computing today, while providing a platform for a comprehensive, open and hybrid environment in the future.”
HP CloudStart delivers private cloud compute service in 30 days
HP CloudStart is delivered by HP Cloud Consulting Services, which provides the expertise needed for clients to transform their existing delivery approaches into more efficient shared-services models.
HP BladeSystem Matrix, enhanced with HP Cloud Service Automation software and data services provided by HP StorageWorks, forms the backbone of the CloudStart offering. It enables clients to reduce provisioning times up to 80 percent(2) with one-touch provisioning across infrastructure, applications and business services.
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3PAR Determines HP Proposal Is Superior Offer At Roughly $2 Billion
Aug 28th
HP’s Bid Valued at Approximately $2 Billion
FREMONT, CA–(Marketwire – August 27, 2010) – 3PAR® (NYSE: PAR), the leading global provider of utility storage, today announced its board of directors has determined that the unsolicited proposal by Hewlett-Packard Company to acquire all of 3PAR’s outstanding common stock at $30 per share constitutes a “superior proposal” (as that term is defined in 3PAR’s previously announced merger agreement with Dell). The 3PAR board of directors notified Dell of its intention to terminate the merger agreement with Dell, immediately following the expiration of the three business day period contemplated by, and the satisfaction of the other conditions set forth in, the merger agreement with Dell, in order to enter into the merger agreement with HP on the terms set forth in HP’s acquisition proposal.
The terms of 3PAR’s merger agreement with Dell require the 3PAR board of directors to continue to recommend that 3PAR stockholders accept Dell’s cash tender offer, and tender their 3PAR shares pursuant to Dell’s tender offer, so long as the merger agreement with Dell remains in effect. Accordingly, at this time, since the merger agreement between 3PAR and Dell remains in effect, 3PAR’s board of directors continues to unanimously recommend that 3PAR stockholders accept the cash tender offer made by Dell and tender their shares of 3PAR common stock pursuant to such offer.
About 3PAR
3PAR® (NYSE: PAR) is the leading global provider of utility storage, a category of highly virtualized, dynamically tiered, multi-tenant storage arrays built for public and private cloud computing. Our virtualized storage platform was built from the ground up to be agile and efficient and to eliminate the limitations of traditional storage arrays for utility infrastructures. As a pioneer of thin provisioning and other storage virtualization technologies, we design our products to reduce power consumption to help companies meet their green computing initiatives and to cut storage total cost of ownership. 3PAR customers have used our self-managing, efficient, and adaptable utility storage systems to reduce administration time and provisioning complexity, to improve server and storage utilization, and to scale and adapt flexibly in response to continuous growth and changing business needs. For more information, visit the 3PAR Website at: www.3PAR.com.
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Update – 3PAR Accepts Matching Acquisition Offer by Dell
Aug 27th
Revised Transaction Valued at Approximately $1.8 Billion
FREMONT, CA–(Marketwire – August 27, 2010) – 3PAR® (NYSE: PAR), the leading global provider of utility storage, today announced it has accepted a
matching offer to be acquired by Dell for a price of $27 per share, or approximately $1.8 billion, net of 3PAR’s cash. Accordingly, 3PAR and Dell have signed a second amendment to their previously announced merger agreement reflecting the new offer price, and maintaining the termination fee unchanged at $72 million, which is payable in the event that 3PAR receives and accepts another unsolicited acquisition proposal that its board determines to be superior to Dell’s increased offer.The cash tender offer commenced on August 23, 2010 by Dell, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, is for all outstanding shares of 3PAR common stock, without interest, and subject to reduction for any federal back-up withholding or other taxes. The offer documents will be amended to reflect the new offer price, but this will not alter the timing of the acquisition. Unless extended, the tender offer and any withdrawal rights to which 3PAR stockholders may be entitled will expire at midnight, EDT, on Sept. 20, 2010. Following acceptance for payment of shares in the tender offer and completion of the transactions contemplated in the merger agreement, 3PAR would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell.
The board of directors of 3PAR continues to unanimously recommend that 3PAR stockholders accept Dell’s tender offer and tender their shares in such offer.
About 3PAR
3PAR® (NYSE: PAR) is the leading global provider of utility storage, a category of highly virtualized, dynamically tiered, multi-tenant storage arrays built for public and private cloud computing. Our virtualized storage platform was built from the ground up to be agile and efficient and to eliminate the limitations of traditional storage arrays for utility infrastructures. As a pioneer of thin provisioning and other storage virtualization technologies, we design our products to reduce power consumption to help companies meet their green computing initiatives and to cut storage total cost of ownership. 3PAR customers have used our self-managing, efficient, and adaptable utility storage systems to reduce administration time and provisioning complexity, to improve server and storage utilization, and to scale and adapt flexibly in response to continuous growth and changing business needs. For more information, visit the 3PAR Website at: www.3PAR.com.
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HP continues its position by increasing the bid for 3Par Inc
Aug 27th
By Associated Press
SEATTLE — Hewlett-Packard Co. has again raised its bid for 3Par Inc. above an offer from rival Dell Inc., suggesting that the little-known data-storage maker could be worth more with one of the PC companies’ marketing muscle behind it.
The latest offer from HP for $27 per share in cash, or about $1.69 billion, is nearly three times what 3Par had been trading at before Dell made the first bid last week.
Earlier on Thursday, Dell said 3Par had accepted its second offer of $24.30 per share in cash, or $1.52 billion. Dell made its first offer, $18 per share, for 3Par on Aug. 16, and HP responded Monday with a bid of $24 per share.
HP and Dell, two of the world’s largest personal computer makers, are looking at 3Par as a way to build up their “cloud computing” businesses, which involve delivering software, data storage and other services to customers over the Internet. Either company would buy 3Par in part to cut data-storage costs.
Before the bidding began, 3Par had been trading at about $10 per share. Some analysts described even Dell’s initial offer price, at two-thirds of HP’s latest bid, as too steep.
But Andy Hargreaves, an analyst for Pacific Crest Securities, said Thursday that Dell and HP are willing to pay more than twice 3Par’s previous value because they believe they have the marketing and distribution muscle to turn 3Par into a much larger business. Revenue for 3Par in the most recent fiscal year, which ended in March, was $194 million — less than 1 percent of Dell’s revenue in the most recent year.
