Sprucing itself up as its Nov. 1 split approaches, HP today announced it's selling the TippingPoint security business to Trend Micro and, separately, decommissioning the Helion Public Cloud.

The TippingPoint move is a direct result of the split, as HP decided that network security wasn't going to fit the mission of HP Enterprise, the network- and cloud-related half of the new HP. (The other half, HP Inc., will focus on computers and printers.)

The Helion move isn't a direct result of the split. It appears to be more of a concession that the public cloud business is sewn up by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its top competitors —namely, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Sunset for Helion

In fact, AWS and Azure are the two alternatives HP will use for public clouds after Helion Public Cloud gets unplugged on Jan. 31.

HP has had support for AWS since the 2014 acquisition of Eucalyptus, a startup known for its open source cloud management platform. And today's announcement notes that HP has been working with Microsoft when it comes to Azure and Office 365.

The plan here is nothing radical. Like most vendors, following conventional wisdom, HP is saying its customers are leaning toward a hybrid cloud that consists of multiple public-cloud options — with AWS being the unquestioned leader and a no-brainer to support.

HP will still be in the business of supplying private clouds and managed cloud services, through offerings such as Helion CloudSystem and the Helion OpenStack distribution. HP will also continue to support customers that use the Cloud Foundry platform-as-a-service, whether it's in AWS, Azure, or an HP-managed cloud.

Tipping Point for TippingPoint

When it comes to network security, HP has decided to find partners rather than own a product, company officials wrote in a blog published Tuesday night. (The announcement didn't mention who those partners might be.)

Trend Micro had already been a partner of TippingPoint's and, as of today, is set to acquire the business for roughly $300 million. Trend Micro expects the deal to close by the end of the year.

HP will still have security products such as HP Fortify and HP Data Security, but they're focused on applications and encryption, rather than the network itself.

TippingPoint was acquired by 3Com for $430 million, a deal that closed early in 2005. 3Com was then acquired by HP for $2.7 billion in 2010.