HP Services bets big on an integrated services model

Srikanth R P / Mumbai

Colin Akers

After the consolidation HP-ISO and Digital Globalsoft, the services arm of HP is fast becoming one of the biggest players in the Indian domestic market. HP has bundled several services under an offering called Integrated Support Services (ISS). This positioning has helped HP win some big deals in India, the most recent being the $150 million Bank of India deal.

Says Colin Akers, Asia Pacific director for Mission Critical and ISS, HP, “A large enterprise typically has different support contracts for products from different vendors such as HP, Dell, Sun, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft and Oracle. All these mean different service levels for each. With an integrated support offering under one service contract, we have simplified the issue of support across the enterprise.” This re-positioning also gives HP the opportunity to cross sell other services. For example, even if HP wins a deal to supply only hardware, it can now talk to the client and provide other services in the ISS portfolio. Apart from the strengthening its services arm (which HP got from Digital GlobalSoft through its merger with Compaq), the merger has also meant that HP has picked up some remote system configuration tools from Compaq which its services arm is using to great effect.

Apart from tapping contracts from MNC companies in India, HP is bullish on domestic companies that are looking at becoming global players. In India, HP Services plans to target verticals such as telecom, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), manufacturing and utilities. While its deals have been big ones so far, HP is looking at expanding the outsourcing concept to medium-sized organisations with around 300 desktops. While some of the most publicised deals of HP have been Ashok Leyland and Bank of India, few know that HP Services has more than 70 customers in India.