HP claims Autonomy interest growing because of accounting scandal

HP has claimed the drama over the $9bn accounting scandal surrounding its acquisition of Autonomy has helped increase customer awareness and interest in the services it can provide.

Speaking to V3 the firm's managing director for HP in Europe Peter Ryan admitted it was "ironic" but said more customers are now aware of Autonomy, and he reiterated comments from chief executive Meg Whitman committing to its technology.

"It's really shone a light on Autonomy and its technology and at a lot of customer meetings people are now asking about it and want to know more about what it can do and how it can help them," he said.

"What we've done and Meg [Whitman] has done well is to separate the accounting questions and say, 'Do we see a value in the technology and the employees?' And the answer is a unequivocal and unambiguous 'yes'."

The accounting scandal is just the latest incident to engulf HP after several years of turbulent management dramas and poor financial performances but new products unveiled at its Discover event last week showed the firm is continuing to try and innovative in the market.

Ryan said this was important for HP to ensure it could differentiate itself from market rivals and act as a leader, rather than simply following what others are doing.

"HP's DNA is engineering and R&D. If you're working for a company like HP you're setting the agenda by starting to address the challenges that chief technology officers are thinking about, not just for today but for trends three year or five years out," he said.

"Many other companies are taking the role of a follower that wants to participate in the market. But whereas others are making similar but cheaper products they're not innovating to address the problems seen by customers and partners now."

The focus on innovation was also touched on by Whitman in her keynote address in Frankfurt last week as she seeks to reassure customers and partners the firm is worth sticking with in spite of its recent issues.

"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," she said.

"This is something we will be focusing on in the next 12 months."