HP is investing US$1bn on developing open source cloud systems in a bid to bring greater liquidity of resources to the data center industry. HP claims that by relinquishing the grip of proprietary systems on hardware, software and data, cloud computing can yield the efficiencies of the free market for data center services managers.

As HP launched Helion, its portfolio of cloud products and services, it revealed that it is spending $1bn on supporting OpenStack cloud related initiatives as it seeks to promote the use of open source software in data center environments.

Users of open source cloud management software can build and consume workloads much more efficiently now in hybrid IT environments, according to HP. The rationale, claimed HP’s director of cloud computing Michael Clifford, is that companies can move loads between data centers at will.

The liquidity of the internal market for assets will yield economies for data centre managers, according to Clifford. “We are freeing the users from proprietary offerings. They can run the systems they have today by using a lot fewer resources and save an awful lot of money,” said Clifford.

HP will spend the billion dollars on R&D of cloud products. It said it will hire “hundreds” of Openstack experts to offer advice on planning, building, migration, operations and management. Another Helion-related cost saving is that legal research by HP will save companies from the risk of falling foul of licensing issues, claimed Clifford.

A free release of Helion OpenStack, the Community edition, is being made available for pilot projects and testing. Clifford said that the system is available between now and Christmas. Meanwhile a commercial edition of the HP-branded code, with management tools, plug-ins, enterprise grade options and a choice of hypervisors and hardware, will be available in June.

The customer challenges today are beyond the cloud, said Martin Fink, HP’s chief technology officer. “It’s about how to manage, control and scale applications in a hybrid environment that spans multiple technology approaches. HP Helion provides the solutions and expertise.”