HP has decided to become the largest cloud provider.

During the HP Summit 2011 in San Francisco, HP CEO Leo Apotheker spoke about the company's future strategy.

According to the new strategy, the company plans to launch a hybrid service model that will combine private and external cloud platforms. As a result, the company aims to become a leader in cloud solutions.

HP plans to launch a cloud service that will allow third-party developers to offer their applications to corporate and individual users of HP products and services. According to Apotheker, the company plans to sell over 100 million devices running HP's proprietary Linux-based operating system annually.

As part of its cloud strategy, HP also plans to open a web app store. This will be available to third-party developers, who will be offered the necessary tools, as well as to users worldwide. The company aims to build a user base by releasing devices based on the webOS operating system.

Apotheker's top priority is increasing profitability. Last year, the profit margin on desktop and laptop sales was 6.4%, despite accounting for 32% of the company's total revenue. HP's software business, meanwhile, has a profit margin of 17.6%, yet accounts for only 3% of total revenue.

Joshua Greenbaum, an analyst at Enterprise Applications Consulting, believes that HP can gain popularity in the corporate market and among private users, since it is present in both markets.