HP/Compaq migration roadmap in place

Hewlett Packard (HP) chief executive Carly Fiorina has said that the combined HP/Compaq has already drawn up a future product roadmap.

In a speech at the Gartner Symposium/IT Expo 2001, Fiorina told delgates that HP and Compaq customers would know within a month after the merger is finalised how the migration path will affect them. She said legal constraints restricted her from providing specifics at this time.

"Everyone will know what their migration path will be," Fiorina said. "We won't blow the integration."

She added that enterprise customers would be informed which account team will handle their business within a month after the merger is approved.

Fiorina told the group that HP and Compaq had put together detailed and specific plans for integrating and combining operations as well as regulatory plans before they met with banks to talk about the merger. "This isn't about a deal or a transaction, but about creating a stronger company," she said.

She further stated that HP will focus on providing customers with flexibility, lower prices and greater ease of use. The merger will allow both companies to save billions by eliminating duplication in research and development, administration, sales and procurement.

"We have a pretty good handle on the duplication involved," she said.

While Fiorina stressed that HP will protect customers' investments in its products, customers should not expect all products to survive. "Don't expect a blanket set of protections for every product we sell," she warned.

According to Fiorina HP has no plans to spin off its printer and imager lines, which account for about 40 per cent of its sales. She said the firm intends to become a stronger, broader, more balanced information technology company.