HP unveiled utility computing services that enable multiple customers to access HP's dedicated, publicly available computing resources at variable prices.

By using HP Flexible Computing Services, companies can quickly acquire additional IT resources as needed. The cost-per-unit pricing is ideal for customers with compute-intensive jobs that can outstrip the capacity found even in very well-equipped IT environments.

To help customers get started in utility computing in a low-risk, low-cost way, HP is offering a membership approach with its HP Flexible Computing Club. Members of the club receive special guidance and a "try-before-you-buy" experience to determine how utility computing can best fit their business needs.

In November 1999, HP introduced pay-per-use and instant capacity for enterprise customers. As part of HP Flexible Computing Services, the company is offering another first with a complete application utility for computer-aided engineering analysis.

The new services are designed for industries such as oil and gas, financial services and health sciences, as well as independent software vendors that need to test software on large-scale infrastructures prior to release. They build, in part, on work that HP Labs performed with DreamWorks Animation last year in the production of the films Shrek 2 and Madagascar.

Schlumberger Information Solutions (SIS) is working with HP to help provide its customers the extra compute cycles and improved performance needed to run large numbers of reservoir simulations. HP Flexible Computing Services will help SIS deliver faster turnaround times to customers, allowing them to ultimately speed up the cycle from exploration to production. A recent success with a United Kingdom-based operator has demonstrated the power of flexible computing to run multiple concurrent simulation models for making important field development decisions in short timeframes.

HP Flexible Computing Services provide compute power based on a full range of technology platforms, from 32- and 64-bit systems, including Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron processor-based HP ProLiant systems and Intel Itanium processor-based HP Integrity servers. They are offered with all major operating systems and select vertical industry applications. The HP Flexible Computing Services portfolio includes:

• HP Flexible Computing Club: HP offers enterprises a way to determine whether utility computing is right for their business. This includes startup and consulting services and a 48-hour pilot project.


• Infrastructure Provisioning Service (IPS): A highly available IT infrastructure utility service with enhanced security delivered out of HP's world-class data centers. HP owns the assets, including all hardware, and offers a choice of operating system environments. The customer provides and manages the application(s).


• Infrastructure Provisioning Service plus (IPS+): Includes IPS; HP also installs and manages workload and grid management software and/or compiler software for application developers. This software is provided by Platform Computing, DataSynapse, United Devices, Altair Engineering, PathScale and HP's own software tools.


• Application Provisioning Service (APS): Includes IPS or IPS+; HP installs key vertical industry application software to a default configuration.


• Application Provisioning Service for Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE): An industry first, this complete application utility service includes many leading CAE applications for structural, crash and fluid analysis. Some of the leading ISV partners such as Abaqus, Fluent, LSTC and MSC.Software provide CAE software on the utility infrastructure with the goal of enabling customers to access and pay for the entire computing stack -- the hardware, operating system and application software -- on a flexible payment basis.

"HP was the first in the industry to offer managed, metered and instant capacity on demand services for our customers who wanted to acquire additional IT infrastructure resources when and where they needed them, and pay for them based on usage," said Steve Smith, senior vice president of HP Services. "With today's introduction of HP Flexible Computing Services, we take our utility pricing solutions one step further to offer our customers the ability to plug into HP's computing resources as needed, making aligning IT resources with fluctuating demand even simpler than before."