Cloud Computing & HP with EDS?

Wow, I read it over and over again in the blogosphere that cloud computing is just the buzz phrase of the year and that it will quickly fade. I quickly dismiss comments like that, not because I don't think it is a buzz phrase, but because I know that it will not fade. It just makes sense. Today, was one of the times that I saw the "buzz" around cloud computing used to explain something that seems to be unrelated to me. HP is acquiring EDS for 13.9 billion, which is great for both and could prove to be a profitable move, but I disagree with Om Malik that it is about the "Cloud". HP could jump into the cloud game without EDS. EDS is a company that mainly deals in services and outsourcing. I see this more as a strategic move to boost profits and grow HP in the services arena. HP has the resources in hardware, data centers, and software development already to create a great offering for cloud computing without EDS. If I am completely out in left field on this one, then HP is certainly going to be very late to the game. It will take years to integrate these two organizations and get them on the same page. This is not just a couple hundred people, it is a couple hundred thousand people with completely different corporate cultures. I would gladly and warmly welcome more players in the cloud computing space, so HP, if you are joining the party... welcome, share your ideas, I am all ears. However, I really think this is about growing the business in the services arena. If so, congratulations all around as well. You have been able to do more than Microsoft and Yahoo! lately.