Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 4, 2007 - HP today announced it has enhanced its service management portfolio to help IT organizations put into operation the capabilities of the recently released IT infrastructure library (ITIL) service management practices, known as ITIL v3.

ITIL v3 is a framework of global IT management best practices intended to help facilitate the delivery of high-quality IT services across the complete service management lifecycle. In conjunction with this framework, the refreshed HP Service Management portfolio helps customers align IT operations, applications and strategy to achieve better governance, compliance and efficiency across the IT environment and ultimately, to demonstrate more IT value to the business.

"With the creation of ITIL v3, we have shifted from IT process-centric practices (ITIL v2) to a more general, overarching service-centric approach across service strategy, design and transition so enterprises can be more effective and efficient at synchronizing IT strategy with business needs," said Sharon Taylor, chief architect of ITIL v3.

As a pioneer in service management with more than 15 years of experience, HP has been a leading driver in the refresh of the ITIL v3. One of the five core books of the library, titled "Service Operation," was authored by HP consultants David Cannon and David Wheeldon. HP's Jeroen Bronkhorst developed the ITIL v3 process maps, while Stuart Rance and Ashley Hanna worked on the ITIL v3 glossary.

"HP provides a comprehensive set of industry best practices with their Service Management portfolio that have helped us remain strategic throughout the process of implementing our service management roadmap," said Sherri Young, director, Service Management, Data Return. "HP's continued support of ITIL and leadership in helping shape ITIL v3 help us maintain our role as a best-in-class service provider for our customers."

The HP Service Management portfolio combines education, consulting, support and software in a set of six solutions that address all aspects of service management, including: Demand and Portfolio Management, Business Service Management, Asset and IT Financial Management, Consolidated Service Desk, Change and Configuration Management, and Infrastructure Management.

Education services, consulting services and new capabilities for the HP Business Technology Optimization software suite are the latest editions to HP's portfolio.

"HP is the most experienced partner in the industry to help customers move from a tactical to a strategic approach to aligning IT with the business," said Mike Rigodanzo, senior vice president, Technology Services, HP Services. "Our service management offerings can help customers deliver consistent and predictable service levels to the lines of business while lowering costs to free investment for innovation."

Education services

HP is one of the first vendors to provide ITIL v3 certification and simulation courses that educate IT professionals on the differences between v2 and v3. The courses become available for purchase May 30.

Two workshops featuring hands-on simulations based on high-performance motor racing provide an overview of ITIL v3 and its business benefits (Service Management workshop) and the critical elements to successful portfolio and project management and how they impact business results (Project Management workshop).

In addition, HP Business Analysis and Project Management Training Services train IT professionals in best practices to ensure successful management of the design, build, test and roll out of projects.

Consulting services

To foster continual service improvement, HP helps customers establish a practical, flexible and incremental approach for deploying service management across an organization based on service management maturity level, business priorities, budgets and tolerance for risk.

New HP ITSM Assessment Services and HP Improvement Services address a critical component for the service management lifecycle by analyzing ongoing processes in comparison to ITIL v3 best practices. The Assessment Services provide a benchmark for process improvement recommendations, while the Improvement Services, which now can be offered as a standalone service no longer requiring a contract, deliver a tailored improvement plan.

HP Business Technology Optimization software for optimized business outcomes

HP's broad software offerings for service management, project and portfolio management, change and configuration management, and quality management have been tightly aligned with the new ITIL v3 concepts of service strategy, design and transition, as well as the specific functionality mandated by ITIL books.

To speed change while minimizing business risks, enterprises need to transition from managing devices to managing business services. HP's approach to business service configuration management includes three elements: discovery and dependency mapping of all the components that comprise a business service in the configuration management database (CMDB); technology to assess and mitigate the impact of change on a business service; and broad automation of the deployment of the change across the breadth of components that make up the business service. HP Software provides the broad capabilities that are both consistent with the new direction of ITIL v3 and meet these diverse needs.

At the heart of HP's approach to ITIL v3 is the HP Universal CMDB, which in a recent survey conducted by mValent was the most widely preferred choice of CMDB in the industry.

More information on the HP Service Management portfolio is available at www.hp.com/go/servicemanagement.

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About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers - from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $97.1 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2007. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.

About HP Middle East
HP is the largest technology and solutions provider in the Middle East with 670 employees and subsidiaries in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Khobar, Cairo, Ramallah, Oman and 2 service Joint Ventures in Kuwait and Bahrain servicing the GCC, Egypt and the Levant. HP has been present in the Middle East since 1968 and opened its first regional office in 1994. HP Middle East is the market leader for enterprise, small and medium business and consumer technology products and offers a large portfolio of solutions and services in various business domains.

More information about HP in the Middle East is available at www.hp.com/me

© 2007 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.

© Press Release 2007