Fiorina praises innovation but not Capellas

Innovation is vital to the future of the technology industry said Hewlett Packard (HP) chairman and chief executive Carly Fiorina, in a speech heavy on optimism but devoid of any new product or roadmap announcements.

As with Bill Gates' keynote the previous evening, Fiorina told delegates at Comdex in Las Vegas that the rate of innovation was increasing faster than ever, despite the tough economic climate.

"The real storyline of this industry is not being written on the showfloor but in the very things that we cannot display on the showfloor," she said.

"Even though we come back to Las Vegas this year with maybe more on our minds than in past years - not only war, recession, terror and corporate scandal - I've come to this conference more hopeful about our future than I have ever been."

Fiorina largely avoided plugging HP's products, although she did give a brief glimpse of the latest HP iPaq, which comes with in-built fingerprint authentication, calling it "the ultimate stocking stuffer" and a tablet PC.

Instead she focused on the challenge IT departments face in getting the most out of their incumbent infrastructure rather than investing heavily in more products.

"If companies cannot see a clear linkage between the return on their technology investments and their business priorities and business productivity, they simply won't make the investment," she said.

She then turned on IBM and its recent plans to invest $10bn in autonomic and self-healing computer systems.

Customers do not need to hear about "time machines, binoculars, or more reckless hype about multi-billion dollar bets on the next big thing" in the current climate, she said.

"While IBM is placing $10bn bets on the final chapter of e-business and saying that you are at a crossroads that will seal the future fate of your business forever, at HP we don't see it that way. The path to the future is about taking one step at a time."

Updating on life after the merger with Compaq, Fiorina claimed the company is now equal with Dell in the PC market and "close behind" IBM in services - a statistic with which most industry analysts would disagree.

In its third quarter figures this month, Dell took back the number one slot from HP in the PC market.

"Six months after we closed our merger we feel good about the progress we've made," she told the audience.

There was, however, no mention or best wishes for the recently resigned Compaq chief Michael Capellas who will now head up WorldCom.