The technology titan Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE.N) on Tuesday said that it is rolling out a cloud computing service designed to power artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, the speech recognition system that helped bring Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) Siri to market. The service, called HPE GreenLake for AI, is being used by a few customers now. It is the first in a series of domain-specific tools that the company plans to launch.
The rollout puts HPE into direct competition with cloud computing providers such as Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), and Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, which also offer a broad range of services that can be used to train AI models and run applications. The move comes as companies increasingly rely on AI to help them improve customer service, make decisions and manage business functions such as finance, sales, marketing, and human resources.
It also highlights how companies rely on AI to automate and optimize tasks traditionally handled by human beings, a trend that is remaking how people work. That shift fuels the demand for specialized computers that quickly process vast data. That type of computing is often more efficient than traditional servers that have to spin multiple copies of the same program to handle each request.
To do its part, HPE has been focusing on its GreenLake business, which offers managed and hybrid cloud services to enterprises. Its GreenLake platform can be hosted on-premises, at a partner’s colo facility, or in its data centers. In addition to the infrastructure component, HPE provides software and analytics tools to manage and monitor the data.
In a recent announcement, the company highlighted examples of customers using the GreenLake offerings to enhance their business operations and customer experience. For instance, Home Depot rolled out network upgrades at some of its North American stores with technology from Hewlett Packard Partner Aruba, a unit of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The company’s Aruba Edge Service Platform is powered by the GreenLake cloud and uses artificial intelligence to identify customers, provide them with personalized information and recommend products.
The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, use the GreenLake Private Cloud Business Edition for block storage to support a variety of workloads. It can be deployed on-prem, at a partner’s colo site, or a colocation center and is managed by the in-house IT team. The Cowboys can deploy it in “as little as 14 days,” according to HPE. The Cowboys also use the HPE GreenLake Consumption Analytics to track usage and cost based on the metering. That tool is based on software the company acquired with its acquisition of OpsRamp earlier this year. The IT titan plans to deliver other GreenLake analytics and management capabilities over the next few months. It also will expand its partnership with Equinix to allow customers to pre-provision HPE GreenLake servers at the colo facility. They can then connect to the cloud and run their platform applications.
