In a bid to establish itself as an e-business software vendor, Hewlett-Packard last week rolled a number of its applications into two software suites, Netaction and OpenView. HP said it will focus on providing cross-platform automated services that reduce the amount of human interaction needed in e-business tasks.
HP said the suites encompass 25 new offerings, including an OpenView management toolkit, the Total-E-server 7.3 application server, and HP Process Manager 5.0, which allows workflow between multiple firms. HP said its offerings support "service-centric computing" with software providing management and infrastructure for firms.
HP Netaction helps firms develop and deploy e-business services. It uses technology from Bluestone Software, a middleware firm recently acquired by HP, to provide Web translation of data to fixed and wireless devices. Netaction includes HP's E-speak service for automating business-to-business transactions; process workflow software; IP voice services; the Chai embedded Java platform; and usage-based billing software.
The integration of Bluestone technology lets HP offer an application server that is based on Java, J2EE and XML standards, but is also compatible with the Microsoft dot-Net environment for accessing applications over the Internet, the firm said.
Kevin Kilroy, vice president of HP's software solutions organisation, described HP as "the Switzerland of software vendors", offering a vendor-neutral way to build always-on Internet solutions.
The additions to OpenView boost storage management, robustness and integration in Internet-centric environments. New tools help managers control and plan storage architectures, accelerate performance, isolate data, and integrate with Bluestone.
Despite the new products, HP still faces challenges to become established as a software vendor in the eyes of IT buyers.
Neil Ward-Dutton, research director for e-infrastructure at analyst firm Ovum, said HP would have to show that it was not "locking customers into an HP-only solution".
Others analysts predicted that the branding is only part of a more ambitious plan by HP to be at the heart of e-business. Clive Longbottom, service director at analyst firm Quocirca, said the move will see HP competing with companies such as Accenture and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young as a consultant integrator, once it finds a replacement for the consulting arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the services giant it recently came close to acquiring.
