Hewlett Packard Enterprise is acquiring Morpheus Data to simplify hybrid and multi-cloud management. The technology will be integrated into HPE's GreenLake as the vendor pursues AI workloads.
Spun out of Bertram Labs in 2015, Morpheus Data offers a multi-tenant hybrid cloud management platform with self-service provisioning, automation and FinOps capabilities. Bertram Labs is a wholly owned subsidiary of private equity firm Bertram Capital Management. Terms of the deal were not disclosed; the acquisition is expected to be completed before the end of October.
HPE has partnered with Morpheus for years to address hybrid cloud management issues, such as complexity, skill gaps and cloud sprawl. HPE will integrate Morpheus Data's management and automation capabilities into its hybrid cloud platform GreenLake. This is HPE's second hybrid IT management acquisition in the last 17 months. In March 2023, it acquired OpsRamp, which monitors and manages hybrid IT infrastructure.
There is a strategic fit between what Morpheus does and what HPE is trying to do with GreenLake, according to Matthew Eastwood, an analyst at IDC.
"There is this real battle for relevance today with respect to AI workloads," he said. "Most, myself included, see hybrid as the operating model for AI workloads."
As AI workloads become more common for enterprises, vendors such as HPE need to differentiate their offerings and look for opportunities, Eastwood said. For HPE, that means focusing on its storage, data management and networking capabilities in a hybrid IT environment, he said.
Shoring up GreenLake
Alongside its acquisition of OpsRamp, Morpheus Data will add to HPE's management and monitoring stack for hybrid IT infrastructure in a way that's complementary, according to Hang Tan, senior vice president and chief operating offering of hybrid cloud at HPE.
"Morpheus is more on the OS and above management, and OpsRamp is more OS and below management," he said. Tan added that OpsRamp can monitor and automate the infrastructure, while Morpheus can do the same for different hybrid services and spending options.
HPE can leverage IP from both solutions to build out that uber infrastructure, operations/AIOps and cloud management platform.
Matt KimballAnalyst, Moor Insights & Strategy
Matt Kimball, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said he also believes the Morpheus acquisition could bring simplicity to GreenLake users by delivering a point-and-click experience in a single console for self-service, consumption, management and spend.
"I can tell you as somebody who spent a few years in IT management -- complexity is the enemy of IT," Kimball said.
While there is some overlap between the two acquisitions, Morpheus also brings additive capabilities to OpsRamp, Kimball said.
"HPE can leverage IP from both solutions to build out that uber infrastructure, operations/AIOps and cloud management platform," he said.
Morpheus customers and employees
HPE said it expects to make employment offers to most Morpheus employees.
Morpheus will continue to be offered as a standalone product separately from GreenLake. Pricing for the standalone product or pricing changes for GreenLake have not been determined.
The downstream effect for Morpheus customers that compete with HPE is yet to be seen, Eastwood said. Dell, for instance, also partners with Morpheus, offering Multi-Cloud Management with Morpheus to its customers.
"[Competitors] will increasingly look for either their own technology or partner technology that they can use to steer future customers in a different direction," he said.
A potential downside might arise if HPE closes off Morpheus support for non-HPE customers, but that doesn't seem likely, Kimball said. Morpheus offers support across platforms and clouds, and this aligns with HPE's goal of supporting hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures, he said.
"Apps and data live everywhere and move from on prem to off prem, and from cloud to cloud," Kimball said. "GreenLake enables this, the HPE software stack supports this, and acquisitions like Morpheus enable the seamless integration and management of that environment."
Adam Armstrong is a TechTarget Editorial news writer covering file and block storage hardware and private clouds. He previously worked at StorageReview.
