Hewlett-Packard's SDN App Store to Go Live from Oct 1
Hewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) software-defined networking (SDN.V) store - HP SDN App Store - will be available for its customers and partners from Oct 1. HP SDN App store will enable network application vendors to market their innovative applications. The store will also provide consulting and support services.
The SDN store currently has two applications by H-P - HP Network Protector and HP Network Optimizer - and six SDN-based applications from its partners. These partner applications are F5 BIG DDoS Umbrella, BlueCat DNS Director and Real Status Hyperglance to name a few.
Hence, customers can easily access and deploy their chosen application on their IT infrastructure. H-P’s initiative to open an SDN application marketplace is another step toward its expansion in to the high-margin software solutions business to diversify its operations beyond the hardware segment.
Also, IDC’s prediction that SDN network applications will generate $1.1 billion by 2017 bodes well for the company.
Software-defined networking is an approach to networking in which control moves from hardware to a software application called a controller. A network administrator uses these controllers to direct and regulate network traffic from a centralized hub. This minimizes the use of different and expensive switches for controlling web-traffic and helps in uninterrupted traffic flow. Another important factor for choosing SDN technology is that it is applicable for both private and public cloud infrastructures.
Recently, the company joined forces with VMware, Inc. (VMW) to deploy SDN-aided infrastructure to deliver enhanced performance for networking customers.
As VMware remains one of the leading companies in the virtualization and cloud computing space, we believe Hewlett-Packard will gain significantly from this collaboration.
Moreover, Hewlett-Packard’s growing focus on new business segments, such as electronic medical records, cloud computing and the recently-added analytics segment will help it to grow in the ensuing quarters.
Nonetheless, competition from Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) in the Medicaid service space, a weak PC market and a sluggish macroeconomic environment remain headwinds. Also, competition from other technology providers such as International Business Machines (IBM) and salesforce.com makes it even more difficult to gain market share in the cloud and security space.
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