In any case, HP is making bold promises. The company is claiming its new approach fundamentally changes the way technology is used to deliver business services while also reducing infrastructure costs and data -center complexity.

Dubbed HP BladeSystem Matrix, the solution merges software, server, storage and networking on a single platform that automates service delivery for the data center. Meanwhile, the HP Matrix Orchestration Environment offers a unified management interface to design, deploy and optimize the application infrastructure.

"Increasingly, customers are looking for data-center solutions with Adaptive Infrastructure properties such as superior economics, application-based cost tracking, and true dynamic capacity management," said Mark Potter, a HP senior vice president. "Matrix is a game-changing, all-in-one technology that allows the infrastructure to run at the pace of the business."

Exploring the Matrix

Matrix aims to simplify complex infrastructure tasks such as disaster recovery , capacity planning, consolidation and provisioning. HP estimated companies can save nearly 80 percent in operational costs and realize payback in as little as eight months, with a potential return on investment in three years of more than 300 percent.

One way is through a self-service portal that aims to streamline application infrastructure provisioning. The portal allows CIOs to dynamically assign resources to meet the needs of businesses. Resources are assigned to requests as needed and then returned to the pool.

HP introduced several new offerings as part of the converged Matrix world, including HP LeftHand P4000 SAN solutions, HP StorageWorks SB40c with P4000 Virtual SAN Appliance Software bundle, HP StorageWorks 600 Modular Disk System, and HP Insight Capacity Advisor Virtualization Services. HP figures a 45 percent reduction in server hardware and software costs.

Double-Digit Energy Savings

Based on the HP BladeSystem portfolio, HP said Matrix also offers sophisticated power management. HP estimates IT can use one-third less energy through HP Thermal Logic Technology and accurately capture historical power usage. The company said customers can also reclaim up to 50 percent of previously over-provisioned data-center circuit capacity.

What's more, HP said, the automated work-flow engine with template-based provisioning increases productivity and decreases errors by removing manual steps and facilitating coordination between technology teams, lowering service delivery time from days to minutes.

Gordon Haff, a server analyst at Illuminata, said HP's announcement is more about serving its customers than it is a direct response to Cisco's Unified Computing System. Most of the technologies within Matrix, he said, have already been shipping, whereas much of what Cisco is offering is yet to come.

"HP is pulling its technologies together and making it more consumable," Haff said. "On the other hand, to look at Matrix as a bunch of product numbers rolled into one package does undervalue the integration work that's been done and the deep work with partners to come out with ways to easily deploy software. So there is a lot of legitimate integration work that's gone into this, but it's essentially technologies HP has already been delivering and is basically proven at customer sites."