ITUG/DECUS joint Euro conference starts in Lyon

LYON, FRANCE-- Hundreds of ITUG and CUO-EMEA members converged on the Palais de Congres in Lyon to participate in the opening day of the third annual ITUG/DECUS Joint Conference. The conference delegates, who hailed from Europe, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, got a first-hand look at the products, strategies, and senior managers of the New HP. Here is a brief summary of Day One Doings in Lyon.

No Surprises Conference Chairs Micheal MacConmara and Yogesh Teli kicked off the opening session and introduced the two senior-ranking executives from the New HP. Network Storage Solutions VP and General Manager Howard Elias--a long-time supporter of user groups--provided an overview of the New HP as well as some interesting facts about the newly-formed IT industry powerhouse.

As a result of the May 7 merger of Compaq Computer and Hewlett-Packard Company, the New HP is the ninth largest company in the Fortune 500. More importantly, the firm is Number One in servers, storage, and personal computers, and enjoys top three market share in all major IT market segments. A true multinational corporation, the firm generates 60 percent of its revenue outside the United States, and is the world's 15th most valuable brand.

Mr. Elias discussed and described the New HP's organizational structure, product roadmaps, and go-to-market strategy. Significantly, the New HP is the first company to deliver comprehensive three-year product roadmaps to its customers. We'll discuss the roadmaps, product set, organizational issues, and other key aspects of the New HP in a future article.

"We're more ready than a lot of people thought," Elias commented on the New HP's readiness to do business and gain market share. Mr. Elias took pains to point out that a promise made is a promise kept:: our initial look at the new company's roadmap and product plans reveals that the New HP is honoring all the commitments and product plans articulated by Compaq in the pre-merger period. In short, SKHPC was pleasantly surprised to discover that there are no surprises in the New HP's product set and roadmap.

Kaspar Rorsted, Managing Director of Hewlett-Packard EMEA and Senior VP of the firm's Enterprise Systems Group, provided a first look at HP EMEA, an organization that boasts 45K employees and a dominant presence in EMEA. HP EMEA is leadership writ large: the organization boasts 46 percent market share in the Intel space, 37 percent of the UNIX marker, and 35 percent of the rapidly-growing storage marketplace. Look for HP EMEA to leverage its capabilities in the finance, telecom, and manufacturing markets.

Live on Tape: Scott Stallard
Key customer and employee visits precluded Scott Stallard, the newly-minted head of the New HP's Business Critical Systems group, from attending the Lyon event. Mr. Stallard did assert his presence in a videotaped interview wherein he assured customers that the New HP will continue to aggressively promote and sell OpenVMS-based HP AlphaServers as long as customer demand exists.

"We expect [customer demand] to exist for at least several years beyond the 2004 introduction of EV79-based AlphaServers," Stallard said. Since the New HP will continue to support HP AlphaServers for at least five years beyond their final sales date, customers can be sure that their Alpha investment will be protected well into the next decade.

Alpha: A Marvelous Future at the New HP
Among the featured speakers during Lyon Day One was Alpha Systems Division VP and General Manager Rich Marcello, who offered a multitude of reasons why it's safe to bet your business on the New HP's Alpha and IPF technology.

OpenVMS Group VP Mark Gorham followed up with a detailed review of the OpenVMS roadmap (again, no surprises here, except to competitors who falsely claim that the New HP will abandon the OpenVMS customer constituency and force users to embark on a near-term migration) and the status of the VMS-to-IPF port (which is on track and ahead of schedule).

We'll provide detailed coverage of the Marcello and Gorham presentations, as well as the presentations delivered by NonStop Division VP and General Manager Pauline Nist, EMEA Alpha Systems Director Tom Yeates, and UNIX specialist Don Jenkins. Stay tuned for more in-depth ITUG/DECUS Joint Conference coverage in the coming days.

SKHPC Speaks Out on Wednesday
If you are among the Joint Conference delegates, be advised that SKHPC's publisher will deliver a presentation HPQ's Strategic Directions at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday May 15 in the Pasteur Amphitheatre in the Palais de Congres. If you couldn't make it to Lyon, presentation collateral will be made available after the event.

This material is (c) 2002 by Terry C. Shannon, of Shannon Knows HPC