My cynical take is that their clients do know it's hype, however if you're an executive who has bet on HP, this announcement means you can't be second-guessed.

My cynical take is that their clients do know it's hype, however if you're an executive who has bet on HP, this announcement means you can't be second-guessed. If somebody angling for your job asks "Why are we with HP? Why don't we go to the cloud?" you will respond smoothly, "We are going to the cloud with HP, in the fullness of time, after all the relevant details have been examined and the considerations carefully weighed, ..."