 Okay, welcome to SiliconANGLE.com and Wikibon's exclusive coverage of HP Discover in Las Vegas. This is theCUBE, our flagship program. We go out to the events, extract the signal from the noise. I'm John Furrier, founder of SiliconANGLE and we are going to be broadcasting live here in Las Vegas with HP for two and a half days. We're starting now. We're going to kick off the afternoon. Keynote starts today at four o'clock Pacific with Meg Whitman and we are on the ground getting all the stories. We're going to extract the signal from the noise. We're going to talk to the top executives of HP. We're going to talk to their customers. We're going to talk to anyone who can share with us some signal from the noise. We're going to share that with you. And I'm joined this week by my co-host Jeff Brick and Jeff Kelly. Guys, welcome to day one. Dave will be joining us later. He's at another event covering the storage, changing paradigm of software and big data. So guys, welcome to HP. So let's kick this off. So Jeff Kelly, so one of the big stories here is obviously big data, the autonomy acquisitions, it's kind of like eating that bad food. You got to get it through your system at some point. You got to kind of clear it out. It's like heartburn. HP is almost at the end of essentially completely cleaned and toxic-free from the old baggage of autonomy. But ultimately, that data is still kind of there. They're going to work it through. Meg Whitman was clear yesterday in the interviews with all things D and other outlets that, hey, you turn around plans multi-year and they're going to mind their balance sheet and their T's and C's around all their business. But still, big data is pumping. Vertica's doing very, very well. We're going to hear a lot from them in autonomy. What's your take, the early read? I know some news is going to drop on the wire any minute now. You've been pre-briefed. Why don't you just break that news right here if you can and share with everyone what's happening? Sure thing. So HP is releasing what they're calling Haven, which is their big data platform play. So Haven stands for Hadoop, autonomy, Vertica, enterprise security, and the end is for the number of applications that can be built on top of the platform. So this really is HP's first attempt to bring together the big data software assets along with its hardware and services. How do you spell that? H-A? H-A-V-E. A little n. Lower n. Lowercase n. So this is their attempt to bring together their software, hardware, and services assets related to big data into a comprehensive platform enterprise. The idea here of course is to tell a narrative around HP's big data capabilities. Up until now, because I think a lot of the turmoil around the autonomy acquisition, that has kind of prevented HP from telling this unified story. I know they've been working on this for a while, and they've had to do this. So frankly, HP's a little late to the game here, but better late than never. And on first blush, it's a good start. I would say it's as much a framework as it is a platform. It involves different types of technologies like Vertica for real-time analytics, Autonomy for the textual-type analytics, Hadoop of course for that batch analytics, large-scale storage, cost-effective storage. So they're trying to bring that all together into a compelling offering. Like I said, it's as much a framework as a platform, but it's gonna give HP sales, Salesforce really a better narrative to tell, and it gives them really a roadmap that they can put in front of customers to say, we understand that you need a unified vision of big data, and we're offering that now. It's step one, they've got, of course, Execute. They're going to have some challenges, I think, around building applications for the platform. They're going to count a lot on their ecosystem partners, especially in the BI space to help them do that. But it's a good first step in terms of bringing together this unified big data story from HP. So Jeff, again, this is the queue. This is at SiliconANGLE's exclusive coverage at HP Discover in Las Vegas. We were at IBM Edge, still there at IBM Edge, day two coverage at IBM. We have all the big public companies covered, IBM, HP, you name it, it's posted on NetApp. This is Storage Week, I just did a tweet. Storage Week is greater than Shark Week. This is like, you know, this is Storage Week, this is Infrastructure Week, and basically, HP, Jeff, and Jeff, this is, we used to call it the big aircraft carrier. It doesn't really turn into a dime, but it's got a lot of weight to it, a lot of power, and big data and enterprise. I'll see a really, really big deal. I wrote a post earlier today on my Forbes column, and we also have it covered on SiliconANGLE.com. HP introduced Flash into their storage, very successful and profitable three-part line. So that is huge news, because what that really means is that HP kind of set a last shooter drop for HP with storage, and with Flash, having that Flash offering allows them to compete in that game. But really, ultimately, Dave Donatelli had a chance to sit one-on-one with him. He'll be on the Cupid 110 today, as well as with Craig Nunez of the Converge Infrastructure Group. And it is very, very clear that these guys absolutely get software-defined infrastructure, specifically software-defined storage. This is not new to them. It's not Johnny come lately to the game. These guys have been playing in this integrated world of converging infrastructure for many, many years. So this is not a new game. It's not their first rodeo when you talk about software. And with that, Jeff, it's multi-vendor. So that is a big thing right now. Multi-vendor support. They've been big proponents of OpenStack and Cinder. So this is not new to HP. Yeah, the thing that a whole nother category of releases that are coming out and a lot of the stuff that we've been covering is the whole cloud angle. And HP really has quite a story to tell on the cloud angle as well, what they call their Converge Cloud. Because based on the amount of work and the type of work that's being done, they've really come at this thing with a whole portfolio of products to offer the right solution to the client. And I think it's pretty interesting that they've got all their proprietary stuff and their big proponents of OpenStack and that platform. And really, they can come at an enterprise with, as Jeff said, kind of a unified vision, a unified journey to accomplish the tasks that are being asked in some of these new trends. But at the same time, they've got a variety of solutions that they can put on the table. So it's an interesting juxtaposition between a single-vendor and HP that are a broad range of technologies that they can really apply to the problem. This is theCUBE. This is SiliconANGLE's flagship program to go out to the events of Strictly Silver Noise. This is day one of HP Discover of three days of live broadcast. And we are going to bring you all the action. This is what we're going to look for. This is what we're going to bring with you today. We're going to go get the stories. We're going to go where the action is. It requires an interview out on the floor. We're going to go get it. Our team is here on the ground. We're going to get those stories. So we're going to talk to all the executives. We're going to talk to the customers. We're going to talk to the thought leaders. But more importantly, we're going to get the information because what's out there right now is that these big public companies, IBM, HP, Dell, NetApp, they're all transforming. And Jeff, what I just wrote about today in the blog is that the market's changing and that the economics are so compelling with cloud mobile and social that with Amazon's success with the cloud, you are seeing a massive reinvestment and a retooling. What that means is the entire marketplace is in transition. You thought big data was hot guys? The data we're getting from the field right now and we're going to dig in here at HP Discover is that cloud is even more disrupted than we thought. And that is actually taking the top line activity and driving the big data action. And that when markets are reforming, all the chips are on the table. To use a Vegas analogy, they're all playing their cards and whoever can reach in and grab those chips will win the game. And that's going to mean more R&D for these big companies, more importantly for startups out there, M&A. We are hearing a ton of buzz, Jeff, about the M&A activity going on within this marketplace, HP, IBM, these big public companies, they're all kind of second on their message. Oh no, we're going to grow organically. We're going to make the right outcome. They are prospecting for companies. The market's moving way too fast. They're looking for buyers. So Aaron Laver from box.net on the plane, I'm sure he's having those conversations. So, you know, this is all awesome opportunity. And more importantly, the business value. HP has to deliver business value to their customers. Words like agile, words like flexible, words like return on investment. These are the core tenants of these big enterprise customers. They move a little slower, but when they do, they move big. So I'm expecting a lot of cloud. I'm expecting a lot of data discussions, data mobility, data movement. These are the stories. We're going to get those stories. Yeah, it should be great. And it's funny as you talk about the ecosystem as I look out to our left, there's a huge area over there with a lot of partners. And as we've talked about even in this recent announcement, a lot of those companies were acquisitions. So it's an exciting time. And I think kind of at the fundamental core of the whole thing, it's really about delivering business value as a service and really changing the way that they think about hardware and software and storage and really thinking about the customer problems, delivering these computing resources, storage resources as a service so that people can consume them in the best, most appropriate way. So Jeff Kelly, I got to ask you. So guys, I want to ask you guys, both of you guys a question and then I'll weigh in with my comments. Prior to the show, what's the big buzz you've been hearing? Honestly, even when you walk down the hallways, it's pretty clear, news is dropping everywhere. We just had the three part news, the storage news, big data news is hitting the Haven news. What are you guys hearing? What are some of the buzz in the hallways? What are you overhearing for conversations? And what have you heard directly, Jeff? Well, just the sense I'm getting is that this multi-year turnaround is starting, it's a slow turnaround takes time with such a big organization's HP but it's starting to impact, I think, perceptions. I think slowly, but surely, the perception of HP is starting to improve. I think that really, with the last earnings call, I think started that momentum. And interesting from my perspective, of course, HP is a hardware company for the most part, but there's a lot of talk about their software assets around Vertica and now autonomy. So it's interesting to hear that conversation happening at what has been known as really a hardware company and their main show. So I think things, the buzz is generally positive and they've got a lot to live up to. So, Jeff, I want to follow up if you could share with the audience out there. Obviously, just break down the horses on the track for HP, just on the big data. Because what's happened is, we reported last time at HP Discover that autonomy was infiltrating all the different divisions. We saw open flow being shipped on devices. That shows some cross-pollination with HP. We saw autonomy in the laser printers. You're seeing big data throughout all the aspects of HP. That was the last two shows we've done, specifically the one in Frankfurt. It was very, very clear that autonomy was very proactively going in and being integrated in. Very positive trend. Now you have Vertica, you have autonomy. Lay out the playbook for how HP structured as they attack that big data. Obviously, we'll have George Hedifon, who's the senior executive tomorrow here at HP. We'll be on here tomorrow. So he runs that software group. Lay that out. That's right. Well, what HP is trying to do, and this is not unique to HP, but what they're trying to do is build essentially a platform play that allows customers the flexibility to deploy and utilize the different assets within HP software in their big data analytics portfolio, be it Vertica, autonomy, even ArcSight for kind of log data management, and make it as easy as possible for organizations to build a platform that's flexible, that flexes to their needs, and can deliver tangible ROI, solving specific business problems. But really they're trying to build this platform play. Telling a more unified, simplified story, which I think is incredibly important in this market because there's so much noise going around about what is big data, what isn't big data, how much value is it going to deliver? So they're trying to tell a better story. Again, this is not unique to HP. So what you've got at Pivotal is building really a new cloud-based big data platform, platform as a service. I see that as kind of, this is not necessarily HP's response. I know having talked to the guys inside of Vertica and autonomy, they've been working on this for a long time. So this is not HP's necessarily the response to Pivotal, but it's, you can put it right alongside that, and of course IBM with their big data platform. So you've got the whales right now. I just want to comment on Twitter, our little Twitter tool that we always use is called the CrowdSpots platform. But there was some interesting things. We had the key challenges of big data, the four Vs, volume, variety, velocity, the normal four Vs. So this guy writes, hey, four Vs meet the four Ss. Scale, source, speed, and security. So that's some of the themes starting to trickle out here at HP Discover. You know, scale, speed, security. And that is really something that we're looking forward to hearing. The scale and business value conversation will be interesting to dig into. And that is something that HP can certainly differentiate from. Jeff, what have you heard in the hallways? Some of the buzz. The thing that's interesting to me, John, is there's so much activity with new technologies, both open source and proprietary, supporting a lot of these, you know, the social, cloud, and mobile space. And I think what I'm hearing, what HP is trying to convey to the marketplace is we're your trusted partner. We know the space. We have our own stuff that we've been selling for a long time. We have new things. We're embracing open source where it's appropriate with open source, or excuse me, open stack in the do. And really will help you on that journey. I've heard the journey word a lot. Big day to journey, cloud journey. You know, it is a journey. We'll help you on that journey to get started, have some early wins, and then expand it as appropriate throughout other places of the enterprise. So I think that the two big messages from me, John, is really this embracing of a portfolio of possible solutions, including the open source pieces, wrapping it with enterprise-ready software and services and support, and then really taking these enterprises hand in hand. Because the thing that always amazes me is where to see how to see IOs prioritized right now. It's a really kind of busy, changing environment. Yeah, so besides the commentary that we were just laying down, my commentary in particular, I want to add a different twist to some of the things that I'm observing just to start the show. And this is something that I've been watching for a while, Jeff and Jeff, and it's about the culture. HP really has had a lot of things that going against them, certainly in the press, even all things D writes a negative article, when ultimately they're doing really well. First of all, all things D got it all wrong when they said that laser-branded business is hurting. It's not. Had a chance to run into Pradeep Jatwani, who's heading up the division again. It's definitely not hurting. So check your source there, guys, at all things D. You might want to dig into that a little bit further. I know you don't really want to go deep, but you might want to. The quality here is awesome. The people are buzzing their spring in their step. Since Frankfurt, you saw a rallying crime. I think this is directly related to Meg Whitman's leadership. Meg Whitman, in certain circles in the industry, might not get the credit because she's not a super technical person. Some other companies have a technical founder like Larry Ellison, who's heavy-handed. Meg has got a light touch, but she's firm, and she's been very consistent. And I think the people within HP have rallied behind that. People are personable. They're approachable. I just made a tweet to George Kadeef, a very approachable one-on-one with him. Fantastic individual. Kadeef Jatwani, the David Scott. I mean, these are great people. And I got to say, the high-quality individuals, people aren't fearful. There's no, like, scaredness. And I think that's something to report because the press kind of blows it out like, it's a sinking ship, and HP's going under. It's dead. Yeah, they've got some problems, and they're fixing them. So that being said, we're watching that. We're digging in. But high-quality people here. And I'm impressed by that. It's something that's worth noting. Yeah, well, we say it time and time again. It's people, process, and tech. You got to have all three legs of the stool, or it's not going to work. And there was a turnover at the top there for a while, and they had a little bit of a rocky path. But yeah, it does seem to have stabilized, and they seem to be on their way. And again, the aggressive adoption of some of these new technologies is a great indication that they've got the confidence to go forward and really offer the customers the options that they need to solve their problems. So please tweet us. I'm at Furrier, at Silicon Angle. Go to the hashtag, HP Discover. We're monitoring that as well. We'll take your questions. Ask us anything you want. You want us to ask us direct questions to the executives. We're going to have Dave Donatelli on here shortly. So please tweet us your questions. We'll ask the questions. We don't mind asking the hard questions. These executives can handle themselves, and they're prepared. I've yet to knock an HP executive off their script. I've got to say, HP executives are very well scripted, but they're very transparent, and they're very personal. So we'll stay with us all day here at Silicon Angle. We'll be back with Dave Donatelli as our next guest after this short break. We're here live at HP Discover in Las Vegas, and we'll be right back after this short break.