HP Invents Web Infrastructure E-service to Power B2B E-commerce; New E-service Speeds Time to Market, Reduces IT Costs, Requires No Upfront IT Investment

Business Wire, March 27, 2000

High Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2000

IPNet and Lawson First Customers for New Service

Hewlett-Packard Company today unveiled Infrastructure-on-Tap, a new service that "plugs" Web-centric businesses into a standardized IT infrastructure via the Internet using HP's new Internet utility computing model.

Targeted initially to Business-to-Business (B2B) hubs, Infrastructure-on-Tap eliminates the need for a company to design, build, operate and own its IT infrastructure. Instead, HP provides all the technology, management processes and global capabilities needed to conduct business on the Internet -- and customers pay for this scalable, always-on service monthly, according to usage.

IPNet Solutions and Lawson Software are the first customers to embrace Infrastructure-on-Tap.

"We're not in the IT infrastructure business," said Richard Lawson, chief operating officer for Lawson Software, which is using Infrastructure-on-Tap to power its ijob electronic recruiting service. "If my team is wasting months telling a Web hoster how to design and build our IT infrastructure, I'm wasting resources that could be used to develop core competencies. HP's solution is revolutionary. I give HP my sales forecast. They power my business. I pay for it based on how much power I use. Simple."

Among other benefits, Infrastructure-on-Tap helps application service providers, hubs, portals and exchanges speed time to market, minimize investment in personnel resources in non-core competencies, and eliminate capitalization costs. Delivered via the Internet, the service provides true scalability, ensures high availability and requires no upfront IT investment.

"Leveraging the similarities in IT architecture requirements, HP shifted the paradigm from `you have to build it' to `you have a choice,'" said Ann Livermore, president of HP's Enterprise and Commercial Business. "If you're a large enterprise, building your own IT infrastructure may make sense. But most B2B hubs build only because they fear a sudden rise in business could pull down their Web sites and decrease revenues. Valuable resources are used for IT infrastructures that are not fully utilized -- just in case their capacity spikes periodically."

IDC predicts that the number of B2B electronic marketplaces will grow from approximately 1,000 today to almost 10,000 within the next 18 months. HP estimates that Internet utility computing will penetrate approximately 10 percent of the $160 billion IT outsourcing market by 2003.

"Companies embracing electronic marketplaces are realizing the challenges of building and maintaining their own IT infrastructures," said Frank Barker, general manager of HP's Computing Utility Services Division. "We help businesses rapidly scale so they can be faster to market with their ideas and handle rapid growth."

The Infrastructure-on-Tap e-service is designed, owned and operated by HP using an open-systems approach that encompasses UNIX(R) system and Windows NT(R) infrastructure platforms. The service architecture is bulletproofed with a variety of standard, best-in-class enabling software applications, database-management systems and infrastructure systems from HP, including HP OpenView, and from key industry partners such as Cisco Systems, Microsoft(R), Nortel Networks, Oracle(R), and many others. Additionally, HP manages facilities and network services through alliances with industry-leading wholesale service providers (WSPs).

First Customers Flip On Utility-computing Switch

IPNet Solutions, one of the first customers for Infrastructure-on-Tap, enables businesses to create virtual trading communities, seamlessly linking customers and their partners to optimize the supply chain.

"Utility computing is a winning business model that provides tremendous flexibility to serve our customers," said Don Willis, founder and chief executive officer for IPNet Solutions Inc. "Their main concern is generating revenue, not building infrastructure. With HP as our infrastructure backbone, our customers can remain focused on optimizing the billions of dollars in transactions that flow through their supply networks."

More information can be found on the Web at http://www.hp.com/go/Infrastructure-on-Tap.> About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services for business and home -- is focused on capitalizing on the opportunities of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic services.

HP plans to spin off Agilent Technologies and distribute its shares to HP shareowners by mid-calendar year 2000. Agilent consists of HP's test and measurement, semiconductor products, chemical analysis and healthcare solutions businesses, and has leading positions in multiple market segments.

HP has 85,400 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $42.4 billion in its 1999 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

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