HP Enhances Mission-critical Support Services for Continuous IT Service Improvement

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug 10, 2006, HP today announced IT service management (ITSM) enhancements to its mission-critical support services portfolio that help customers plan, implement and continuously improve IT service quality.

The two new services incrementally and continuously tune IT service management across people, processes and technology to help customers chart a course toward operational excellence as part of an ongoing support relationship.

The services are enhancements to HP Proactive 24 Service and Critical Service offerings and include:

* HP Fundamental ITSM Improvement Service – which provides ITSM assessments, service improvement planning and ongoing assistance to increase maturity in service delivery, support and technology management.

* HP Expanded ITSM Improvement Service – which provides customers with ITSM assessments, formal service improvement plans, assistance in implementing and managing the plan, and ongoing ITSM assistance. This service helps customers improve service quality and mitigate risks to IT availability while increasing maturity in service support, delivery, technology management and IT governance.

Delivered by HP Services consultants certified in IT infrastructure library (ITIL) best practices, the services include a structured ITSM assessment based on industry standards such as ITIL, ISO/IEC 20000 and CobiT. The assessment evaluates IT operations against a relevant selection of more than 1,200 service management best practices, benchmarking IT service maturity. Further, it pinpoints gaps and provides recommendations to close them.

Offering industry-leading value to customers, HP also includes a customized service improvement plan that establishes detailed action plans, metrics and key performance indicators to drive and track progress on an ongoing basis.

Data Return, a Dallas-based provider of managed hosting and strategic IT operations services to companies around the world, recently worked with HP Services on an ITSM assessment and service improvement planning.

“HP provided a comprehensive set of industry best practices and periodic benchmarking that helped us identify an ideal end-state and assisted us in building and implementing a roadmap to becoming and remaining a best-in-class service provider for our customers,” said Sherri Young, director, Service Management, Data Return.

HP offers the industry’s widest selection of ITSM/ITIL services, including more than 4,000 ITIL-certified specialists and more than 120 authorized ITIL examination centers worldwide, where more than 80,000 professionals have been trained in ITIL, ITSM and HP OpenView management applications.

“HP’s new ITSM Improvement Services take mission-­critical support services to the next level, helping companies to better align IT service delivery with business requirements through daily improvements in operations,” said Brian Brouillette, vice president, Technology Services, HP. “By providing these enhancements to our support services, HP leads the industry in delivering more value to the customer, ensuring IT service management is on a trajectory to operational excellence.”

More information about HP ITSM Improvement Services for HP Proactive 24 Service and Critical Service is available at www.hp.com/services/continuous.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2006, HP revenue totaled $88.9 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com

This news advisory contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the achievement of expected results and other risks that are described from time to time in HP’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the risks described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2006, and other reports filed after HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2005. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

© 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

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