HP’s Financial Results Strong

HP’s financial results were strong for its first fiscal quarter ending Jan. 31, 2008. The company’s net revenue of $28.5 billion, is up 13 percent from a year earlier and up 8 percent when adjusted for the effects of currency. In the first quarter, GAAP operating profit was $2.6 billion and GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.80, up from $0.55 in the prior-year period. HP estimates Q2 FY08 revenue will be approximately $27.7 billion to $27.9 billion.

“We are raising our guidance yet again, reflecting our confidence in anticipated cost reductions and share gains in key markets,” said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and CEO. “We added more than 2,000 sales positions in the past year through acquisitions and hiring.”

Revenue in the Americas grew 8 percent on a year-over-year basis to $11.2 billion. Revenue grew 15 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to $12.3 billion. Revenue grew 22 percent in Asia Pacific to $4.9 billion. When adjusted for the effects of currency, revenue in the Americas grew 7 percent, revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 7 percent, and revenue in Asia Pacific grew 16 percent. Revenue from outside of the United States in the first quarter was 69 percent, with revenue in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) growing 35 percent over the prior-year period and accounting for 9 percent of total revenue.

HP’s Personal Systems Group (PSG) revenue grew 24 percent year over year to $10.8 billion, with unit shipments up 27 percent on a year-over-year basis. Notebook revenue for the quarter grew 37 percent over the prior-year period, while desktop revenue grew 15 percent. Commercial client revenue grew 22 percent year over year, while consumer client revenue increased 29 percent.

Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) revenue grew 4 percent year over year to $7.3 billion. On a year-over-year basis, supplies revenue grew percent. Printer unit shipments increased 1 percent year over year, with consumer printer hardware units down 2 percent and Commercial printer hardware units up 13 percent.

Enterprise Storage and Servers (ESS) reported revenue of $4.8 billion, up 9 percent over the prior-year period fueled by ESS blades, which grew 81 percent. HP Services (HPS) revenue increased 11 percent year over year to $4.4 billion.

New Data Center Operational

Alcatel-Lucent has successfully migrated to a state-of-the-art, Tier Four data center located just outside of Paris in Marcoussis, France. The new data center is the most robust, secure and fault-tolerant type of data center available to date. Alcatel-Lucent is consolidating its 25 data centers worldwide into six locations by the end of 2009. The company expects the data center consolidation project to reduce the total cost of data center operations by 25 percent before the end of 2008.

Alcatel-Lucent built the new data center’s infrastructure with its own OmniSwitch networking products and HP’s industry-standard servers. The center is designed to handle increasing volumes of multimedia content, automated business processes and new application and service business models. In addition, surplus capacity will be leased to other companies through Data IV, the company’s joint venture with Colony Capital.

To help handle the data center migration project at Marcoussis, Alcatel-Lucent contracted HP Services. As a part of the project, HP consultants assisted Alcatel-Lucent in planning and conducting the relocation of 850 servers from Alcatel-Lucent’s legacy data centers to Marcoussis.

Designed to provide extremely high availability and withstand any single outage as well as multiple disastrous events, the Marcoussis center houses Alcatel-Lucent’s mission-critical applications. It is a showcase of Alcatel-Lucent technology with nearly 250 unique devices implemented. The data center will serve as the primary network operating center to support Alcatel-Lucent’s growing application businesses and its Services Business Group, which supports some of the world’s largest telecom service providers. More information about the Marcoussis data center is available at www1.alcatel-lucent.com/enterprise/en/datacenter/index.html.

Consumer Tech Hikes SMB Productivity

A study by Yankee Group has found that consumer technologies can increase small and medium business (SMB) productivity outside the office 30 percent to 40 percent, especially for the least empowered employees. The research concluded that the impact of ubiquitous connectivity is changing the work/life balance of both enterprise and SMB workers, empowering “Anywhere” workers.

“SMBs are stuck in a productivity malaise using technology no more helpful than a bikini in a meat locker,” said Steve Hilton, vice president of Yankee Group’s Enterprise Research group. “Ubiquitous connectivity is becoming a reality, and for SMBs to get ahead in this global connectivity revolution, organizations must adopt consumer- and business-based technologies to improve employees’ work/life balance and drive forward productivity.”

According to the report, “Unleash the Hidden Power of Your SMB,” technology solutions drive productivity for SMBs outside the office, not inside. Of the consumer technology solutions, blogs, wikis, smart phones, wireless-enabled laptops, instant messaging and online travel services have the greatest impact on SMBs, increasing productivity 25 percent to 50 percent for SMB mobile employees. To get a better understanding of how technology solutions are affecting SMB productivity, listen to the webinar, “Unleashing Hidden Productivity Gains at Small and Medium Businesses,” with Steve Hilton at http://www.yankeegroup.com/webinars.do?url=Conferences/Unleash HiddenProductivityGainsatSMBs.html.

Interacting With

Microsoft Surface

Consumers in the US have begun interacting with Microsoft Surface, the first in a new category of surface computing products from Microsoft, that the company claims will “break down traditional barriers between people and technology.” Unveiled last May, several companies are now conducting pilots of Microsoft Surface while they prepare to roll out the product across their operations. Consumers have been able to interact with Surface in hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues.

The intuitive user interface of Surface works without a traditional mouse or keyboard. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that small groups can use at the same time. Microsoft expects that eventually surface computing technologies will be pervasive, found within everything from tabletops and counters to mirrors.

Different means will be used to interact with Surface. With just the tap of a fingertip a customer will be able to order a burger or create a song playlist. If an object, such as a shirt with a Surface-readable tag, were set on a Surface-enabled counter, a customer could be provided with images of other items of clothing that might be coordinated with the garment. To learn more about this technology, click to www.surface.com.