ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

Two-headed tech consulting giant

In the grand scheme of all things Hewlett-Packard (HP), the firm's IT consulting unit, HP Services, is one small cog in an increasingly large machine. In the world of tech consulting, however, it's a very big deal indeed.  The reason for that split perception is entirely a question of perspective: US$22.39 billion is huge revenue for a consulting firm, but that figure accounts for only around 19 percent of HP's overall revenue take of US$118.3 billion for 2008.  Add to that the fact that the company acquired tech consulting giant Electronic Data Systems (EDS) for US$13.8 billion in August 2008, and the folks over at HP Services could be forgiven for worries about being left in the shadows.

However, both EDS and HP Services have retained their separate brand identities since the acquisition went through, despite several crossover areas of service (application services, infrastructure and outsourcing).  Indeed, when added to the fact that both units have very different business cultures, it may well be the case that they will effectively continue to operate as separate entities.

Solutions for all

Many of HP’s consulting services, including those provided by EDS, fall under its Technology Solutions Group, which is further divided into the Communications & Media Solutions Group (CMS). The CMS unit was established in February 2009 to provide consulting services to the communications, media and entertainment industries, and will be closely aligned with EDS.

In June 2008, the company also formed a new telecommunications-focused consulting division called HP Solutions Consulting Services (SCS), which now falls under the larger CMS division. Through these multitude of businesses, HP offers consulting services in areas including architecture optimization, education and training, infrastructure services, financial evaluation, outsourcing services, organizational change, product innovation, process improvement, and transformation governance. The firm also has a large CRM system consulting branch, helping firms implement SAP solutions.

In the Asia Pacific region, HP offers consulting services through dozens of offices, with operations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. While an exact headcount of HP Services staff in Asia is hard to come by, the newly acquired EDS alone employs roughly 30,000 people across the region.