HP new CEO sets cloud, software as priorities
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Hewlett-Packard will take cloud computing, connectivity and software as its strategic priorities into the future, the company's new CEO, Leo Apotheker, said at the HP Summit held on Monday.
In his keynote speech for the HP Summit, Apotheker vowed to make HP a leading provider of cloud technology and announced plans to develop the industry's first open cloud marketplace.
According to the new CEO, HP also intends to build WebOS into a leading connectivity platform. WebOS is a computer-operating system HP acquired last year when it purchased smartphone maker Palm for 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.
Apotheker said PCs and other devices shipped by HP, starting next year, would have the ability to run WebOS in addition to Microsoft's Windows, which could entice more software developers to build a wider range of applications exclusively for HP devices.
He also highlighted HP's plan of Big Data real-time analytics platform. Last month, HP announced to acquire Vertica Systems, in a move to compete with Oracle and IBM in software. Apotheker said the HP Vertica solution could help customers analyze massive and complex set of data for real-time business intelligence in physical, virtual and cloud environments.
Before taking over the helm of HP last November, Apotheker, a 57-year-old German-born Jew, resigned as CEO of German software maker SAP AG in February 2010, when the company's board decided not to renew his contract citing falling sales and clashes with unions over job cuts.
