vnunet.com analysis: HP pushes connected services

HP plans to ditch its traditional focus on hardware

HP plans to ditch its traditional focus on hardware, and concentrate instead on creating integrated programmes of hardware and internet services, the company's chief strategy and technology officer Shane Robison told vnunet.com.

Robison told reporters at HP's Silicon Valley headquarters that he has high hopes for an area that he referred to as "programming against the internet", where developers create applications that take high-speed connectivity for granted.

"You can assume some level of high-speed internet connection. There are now architectures that if you layer them on top of the internet, there are a number of things you can do in personal markets and the enterprise," said Robison.

"We're seeing a whole new wave of innovation with cool things like MySpace.com. All these things are really just programming against the internet.

"It is happening in a way that is different from what you would expect in an application model. We'll see a decade of really cool stuff happening."

An example of such an application inside HP is Snapfish, an online service that the company acquired in 2005. The service lets users upload and share digital pictures and order photo prints.

Snapfish ties into a network of retail locations where consumers can pick up their orders, similar to a one-hour photo service. HP sells the infrastructure and hardware for those retailers, creating additional demand for its servers and high-end printers.

Such services aim to allow the company to differentiate itself from competitors like Dell and Lenovo, even though they all sell hardware that uses the same components.

Robison said that he wanted HP to immediately become more aggressive in the internet programming space.