HP Discover: Meg Whitman commits to Autonomy technology despite financial headaches

FRANKFURT: HP's chief executive Meg Whitman has said the firm remains committed to Autonomy and its technology in spite of recent legal issues that have hit the headlines.

Whitman made the comments just weeks after HP accused Autonomy's former management, most specifically Mike Lynch, of deliberately overvaluing the firm, forcing HP into an $8bn write-down on the division.

However, clearly keen to reassure customers and partners that Autonomy's technology capabilities are not under question, Whitman told some 9,000 attendees at the firm's Discover event that Autonomy still forms a core part of HP's future strategy.

"We remain committed to Autonomy's market leading technology and employees. This incredible technology will play a significant role in our strategy going forward," she said.

"And we are really excited about innovations we know are in the pipeline from the Autonomy team."

Her comments come as Lynch launched a new website designed to counter HP's claims, as the mud-slinging between those involved shows no signs of ending.

Whitman also spoke of the importance of research and development to HP in order to compete with its rivals and bring customers innovations to help them grow. But she admitted more could be done to turn lab ideas into real products, a message she repeated from HP's Global Partner Conference in February.

"Innovation is alive and well at HP. Our innovation culture is a tremendous asset but what we need to do is work harder at commercialising that innovation and getting it to market faster. This is something we will be focusing on in the next 12 months."

Expounding further on HP's wider strategy to meet firms' needs, Whitman said that hardware remains a core aspect of the business, especially on infrastructure and printers, while security is also a key area as the challenges faced by firms grow rapidly.

"My peers live in fear of a security breach, of problems with information, especially as the number of end points are infinite due to mobile and cloud access points that now exist," she said.

"You need a lock on the door but also a security camera in the room and our security portfolio lets you see events across multiple environments, from the infrastructure to applications and with Autonomy and Vertica we can help you analyse and understand the context of these events."

Whitman will be hoping customers remain convinced of the firm's strategy as it faces a battle against slumping laptop and desktop sales, and increased pressure in enterprise markets leading to a string of poor financial perfomances.