HP's Hybrid Cloud is a destination in and of itself and addresses a critical IT need for a line of accessible resources that comply with company policy and can easily be swapped with comparable, on-premises systems as needed. It is a highly tactical move, but could also yield considerable value as it becomes a showcase offering for the company's new CEO.

IBM's Expert Integrated Systems have similar on-premises hardware, but it is on a path to becoming an additional intelligent resource, addressing the increasing shortage of both administrators who are well trained in current systems and the time needed to train them. This will increasingly bring to light IBM's massive investments in artificial intelligence, as the systems can be expected to demonstrate immediate benefits that will only multiply as the technology gains experience and intelligence. It is a path that highlights IBM's greater historic stability as well as its massive and continued R&D investment in intelligent systems.

Both HP and IBM are optimizing around their distinct sets of resources, and the results they demonstrated this week are dramatically different. HP is responding the threat and problem of public cloud services entering the enterprise, while IBM is jumping to intelligent systems and has its sight set on dominating the future. Both companies will eventually have to address what the other announced, but, this week, their differences reflect the unique position each firm occupies.