HPE has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Cloud Cruiser, a provider of cloud consumption analytics software.

The software itself enables customers to manage and optimize public, private and hybrid cloud usage and spend, on a real-time basis. One of the promises of cloud computing has been flexibility of consumption and the on-demand nature of services. Software such as Cloud Cruiser will give customers greater transparency on how cloud is being consumed within an organization, and thus greater confidence in allocating spend. In cash-conscious time where spend is being help more accountable, it would appear to be a smart move from HPE.

“In today’s ever-changing technology landscape, IT organizations are under extreme pressure to not only ensure that the day-to-day operations run smoothly, but also to deliver new apps, processes and services that allow businesses to innovate,” said Scott Weller, SVP of Technology Services Support in the announcement. “IT leaders are expected to be agile – provisioning IT in minutes, not months – all with significantly reduced budgets.

“But while some workloads may be right for the public cloud, others – which may require higher security, compliance and service levels – are best kept on premise. Because of these different needs, HPE helps organizations take a hybrid approach to IT. But how can business leaders enjoy the same IT-as-a-service model when employing a mix of public cloud and on premise IT?”

In the HPE’s Technology Services portfolio, its Flexible Capacity offering allows customers to on premise IT infrastructure with cloud offerings. Customers can manage IT infrastructure in their own data centre but pay for it as-a-service. It’s a hybrid cloud model, which acts as a transition from legacy infrastructures to a cloud based environment. Cloud Cruiser will be integrated into this offering to allow HPE to meter and bill for customers’ consumption of IT.

The move does appear to be towards the cloud services market, as while many IT decision makers have the ambitions to venture into the world of cloud, realistically it is a tough process. The IT-as-a-service model from HPE is playing the ‘we’ll do the hard graft for you’ card, while the Cloud Cruiser inclusion gives the team another USP to use in marketing campaigns; greater transparency.