Neither will say what they talked about, but it must have gone well: Livermore is overseeing a 20% increase in HP's consulting ranks, to 6, 000, in the next six months.
Corporate customers are supposed to use that system to deliver their own consumer products, and buy efficiency-building network software that is to come out of HP Labs and EDS, the consulting company purchased in 2008.
Sun, now an underdog with its proprietary technology and withered market capitalization, can't mount the consulting-heavy approaches of HP or IBM nor match the marketing clout of Microsoft.
Disclosure: Endpoint has consulting relationships with Dell, HP, and IBM.
The plan addresses a trend toward lower-priced consulting that's been hurting HP.
Further out, HP expects China to also turn into a major consulting center.
There are still notable gaps--software and consulting--but Compaq brought storage and services to HP.
Of course, IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ) and HP are much bigger and have in-house professional services and consulting divisions that help customers figure out their problems and integrate a wide variety of technologies.
The acquisition was not so much for Compaq's PC business-- Dell Computer 's (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ) relentless cost-cutting model has taken out most of its competitors' profits there--but in the hope of building a consulting business, particularly in managed services, that could complement HP's highly profitable printing business.
The charm offensive paid off: Catherine Brune, Allstate's technology chief, says HP is now "winning more and more" software business from Allstate, some related consulting business--and even personal computer sales.
It would double the size of HP's sales force and broaden its customer base, providing more potential clients for its services and consulting arms.
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