A $250m joint initiative has been launched by Microsoft and HP that aims to help businesses in the Middle East advance cloud computing services to simplify technology environments for this sector, the Peninsula has reported. The initiative aims to simplify the data centre with solutions that will allow customers to increase business efficiency, lowers total cost of ownership, and speed time to business value, according to John Hoonhout, Managing Director and Enterprise Business lead, HP Middle East. Solutions are available immediately, with new offerings being introduced throughout the next three years, he said.