Companies have been talking about cloud computing solutions for a while now. Cloud computing might not be mere hype anymore, but even now, the concept is far from being a consolidated solution. Moving to the cloud is not an easy decision, particularly if one is running the IT department of a big company, where there are a lot of legacy systems. However, it seems to be a one-way trip. Companies, including vendors, are still developing their cloud strategies. While chief information officers are figuring out what — and no longer when — they will move to cloud computing, service providers are customizing their portfolio to include the cloud.

Sometimes the answer has more to do with renaming existing solutions than with designing a whole new product portfolio. Hewlett-Packard is following this path. The company knows that it has to offer cloud solutions, much as its competitors are doing. IBM, for instance, has said cloud computing is one of four key areas on which Big Blue is basing its growth strategy.

Indeed, cloud, social, mobility and an explosion in information were cited by consulting firm Gartner as the new forces that are making it necessary to look differently at business. The trends identified by Gartner are driving companies to reinvent themselves to become more focused on postmodern business, creative destruction and simplicity. The world now is fueled by the explosion in information, collaboration and mobility, enabled by the cloud.

“We see a big change, through which it is not the technology but the information that is changing,” said Carlos Mazon, vice president and country manager for HP Enterprise Services Brazil, during a news conference Nov. 28. “Information is becoming more privileged. So those enterprises who know how to take better advantage of them will be successful.”a