New HP familiar yet bigger

State and local government customers will find Hewlett-Packard Co. much changed yet still familiar following its recent completed merger with Compaq Computer Corp.

The new company, which had combined revenues of close to $82 billion in fiscal 2001, will compete with the likes of IBM Corp. and is touting such enhancements as expanded services and more partnerships.

"As governments come under increasing pressure to manage their assets more closely, and as budgets become even more constrained, they'll look to the kind of services capability we can now offer to help them leverage their technology investments," said Jim Weynand, vice president of the public sector group for HP Americas.

The combined company's share of the U.S. public-sector market alone is worth around $5 billion, Weynand said, and he expects this will only get bigger as government agencies become more sophisticated in the features they offer their constituents, such as round-the-clock access to government services.

The company released detailed plans for products (see www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/index.htm#whitepaper) that show the Compaq name largely disappearing over time, although Compaq products and technology will continue to be produced for some years under the HP brand name.

About the only place where the Compaq name will still be prominent is in the consumer and commercial PC and notebook market.

However, the company said that support for both HP and Compaq products will continue for a lengthy period to give customers a chance to migrate to new systems at their own pace.

Robinson is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Ore. He can be reached at hullite@mindspring.com.