HP ready to cut ribbon on IT center

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s new IT center, scheduled to open Tuesday in Washington, is designed to be a resource for its government customers as well as its business partners and systems integrators, said Joe Farley, HP's vice president of federal sales in the Americas.

"It is an extension of our capabilities to show system integrators and our partners what our technologies are," Farley said. "By having the capability of virtually linking to various solution centers that are part of HP's network, they can see actual demonstrations, or talk with people that are subject matter experts."

The center also will be a place where HP business partners can meet with company executives to discuss broad issues such as enterprise resource planning, or the issues surrounding HP's transformation since the merger with Compaq Computer Corp.

"It gives them an opportunity to sit in a room locally instead of having to get on a plane and travel to California." Farley said.

The center will be an environment where the latest technologies can be tested. It will feature audio and videoconferencing and data connectivity with other HP centers, virtual demos on HP solutions and a virtual design center to plan concepts and prototype solutions on HP equipment.

The centers' features will evolve over time, Farley said.

"I see this being interactive about what [people] want to learn about our collaboration tools," he said. "Then we can specifically tailor an agenda for customers to see."