HP Renews Pledge To Evolve, Not ChangeHP Renews Pledge To Evolve, Not Change

The good news for customers and partners happy with their current relationship with Hewlett-Packard came early at its inaugural Technology Forum on Monday; there will be no major changes forthcoming in its business or products.

Ann Livermore, executive VP of HP's Technology Solutions Group, acknowledged at the opening keynote for the forum being held in Orlando this week that many analysts have been waiting for a "big announcement" detailing a new direction for the company.

"Well, here is the big announcement, there isn't going to be one," Livermore said. "We're not going to make any fundamental shift in HP. We're happy with our current strategy."

Livermore's statement reiterated the message that HP has been delivering since the company hired Mark Hurd as its new president and chief executive in March, that the company plans no significant shake-up of its business. There will be no spin-offs or jettisoning of existing business initiatives or product lines.

HP will continue to leverage its existing resources to address five critical "pain points" facing IT executives, she said " consolidation, control, collaboration, compliance, and continuity.

Livermore said HP has used acquisition, most recently adding Peregrine Systems Inc. for asset- and service-management, AppIQ Inc. for storage-resource management, and RLX Technologies for blade-server management, to compliment its existing management product line, and that acquisition will remain a tool for expanding its capabilities in the months ahead.

"Our goal is to be the best IT partner you can possibly have to manage and also transform your IT department," she said.