Hurd keeps the pressure on to improve HP

HP may be on track to be a US$100 billion company this year, but CEO Mark Hurd said there's a total $1.1 trillion IT market for it to pursue.

Hurd, in a keynote address Monday at the HP Technology Forum in Las Vegas, told an audience of HP customers, partners and employees that the company needs to continue to reduce costs so it can invest in innovation more.

In an emotional moment in his 30-minute address, he expressed confidence his 167,000 employees are up to the challenge.

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HP may be on track to be a US$100 billion company this year, but CEO Mark Hurd said there's a total $1.1 trillion IT market for it to pursue.

Hurd, in a keynote address Monday at the HP Technology Forum in Las Vegas, told an audience of HP customers, partners and employees that the company needs to continue to reduce costs so it can invest in innovation more.

In an emotional moment in his 30-minute address, he expressed confidence his 167,000 employees are up to the challenge.

"I know of no CEO who is prouder of their company as I am about HP," Hurd said, in an arena inside the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino convention center.

HP's capital spending has remained relatively flat in recent years, while its budget for IT maintenance and continuing operations has continued to rise. Hurd pledged that HP would increase its capital spending by a factor of four over what it is today, with a goal of getting HP to a point where maintenance and operations are just 30% of the IT budget and innovation on new technology is 70%.

HP is in the midst of a capital project to reduce the number of data centers it operates, from 85 worldwide to just six, to improve the efficiency of its own operations.

Hurd, who is also chairman and president of the technology company, said it also has a goal of reducing the amount of energy used for power and cooling by 50%, which he said would save enough energy to power the city of Palo Alto, Calif., HP's headquarters city, for a year.

"Green is not just about being environmentally friendly, it's [about] a great outcome. It's also about the efficiency we gain and the money we save at the same time," Hurd said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.