Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 9, 2007 - HP today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SPI Dynamics, Inc., a leading provider of web application security assessment software and services, to further strengthen its leadership in the IT application quality management market.

HP Quality Center and Performance Center Software ensure that business systems, such as e-commerce websites or financial and supply chain applications, function well without any performance issues. Updates announced for the HP Quality Center Software at Software Universe, Las Vegas recently included the first ever business requirements and quality management capability fully integrated in a single real-time system. Also, they are   enhanced by advanced performance testing of Web 2.0-enabled service-oriented architecture.

SPI Dynamics technology, which is already integrated with HP Quality Center software, enables customers to assess and identify security vulnerabilities along the entire lifecycle of web applications - from development, quality assurance and deployment. Customers can also use SPI Dynamics software to validate application security and quality after deployment and to meet auditing and compliance requirements, such as Sarbanes-Oxley.

Failure to test and remediate security defects or vulnerabilities before a business application goes into production leaves confidential information within a business-critical application at risk for security attacks and misuse.

"The number of vulnerabilities to business-critical applications has gone up exponentially with the rise of web-based applications," said Mahmoud Mounir, Software Director, HP Middle East.  "Today, HP Software provides solutions that ensure that business applications run well. Now with the addition of SPI Dynamics, we can make sure it is also secure."

Headquartered in Atlanta, privately-held SPI Dynamics has 140 employees and serves more than 1,000 customers in the federal government, financial services and healthcare industries, including HP.

"The combination of HP and SPI Dynamics will allow us to scale and provide our customers with the industry's most comprehensive application quality, performance and security assessment solutions," said Brian Cohen, chief executive officer, SPI Dynamics. "For more than five years we have partnered with HP, so I am very pleased to be joining forces to better serve our customers and partners."

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar year 2007. Following completion, the business will be integrated into the Software unit within HP's Technology Solutions Group.

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About S.P.I. Dynamics, Inc.
SPI Dynamics' comprehensive suite of products and services identify and remediate web application and web services security vulnerabilities throughout the application development lifecycle. These award-winning solutions enable security professionals, QA testers and developers to work together to verify compliance with 22 security policies such as SOX, HIPAA and PCI. SPI Dynamics has more than 1,000 application security testing customers worldwide. More information is available at www.spidynamics.com.

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

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© Press Release 2007