HP to Showcase Portfolio of Linux Solutions for Public Sector at LinuxWorld

Cost-efficiency, security and performance are key issues faced by the public sector, as it strives to implement IT infrastructures capable of supporting a growing requirement for online services and mission-critical applications.  As the established leader in the worldwide Linux server market*, HP delivers powerful and scalable Linux-based solutions to customers for their most complex computing environments.  A growing number of government and public sector bodies such as tax and revenue offices and social security offices rely on HP industry-standard solutions running Linux to deliver open, flexible and secure platform that offer significant time and cost savings.

"We are seeing rapidly increasing adoption of Linux in government and the public sector across EMEA. Open platforms offer a price and performance advantage that make Linux attractive to enterprise and technical computing customers," said Rudi Schmickl, vice president, Enterprise Servers and Storage, HP EMEA. "HP has more than a decade of experience in developing and delivering solutions that ensure secure and effective Linux deployment, and a growing number of government and public sector clients have chosen HP Linux-based solutions and services over competing solutions."

New public sector customers turn to HP
Oberfinanzdirektion Koblenz is the latest in a series of customer wins in the public sector for HP. Part of the regional tax office of the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, it is the central salary and provisioning office (ZBV) based in Koblenz.  The office is installing an HP Linux-based solution to run a document management system on HP ProLiant DL580 and DL380 servers that handles salary and provisioning records for all the region's public office employees.  Central to selection of the HP solution were the availability of the solution on Linux and the scalable design of the solution, enabling expansion of the core system in a cost-effective and reliable way.

The National Insurance Administration for Norway selected HP to provide a secure Linux-based solution for processing confidential personal information and exchanging data securely with other agencies.  Although the National Insurance Administration has close to 500 offices, confidentiality requirements meant that --- prior to implementing 17 industry-standard HP Netservers running Linux --- the agency had no
external access to email or the Internet.   To meet the stringent
selection criteria, HP had to satisfy the requirements of the Norwegian Data Inspectorate and the Personal Protection Act, and undergo stringent security testing for the selected HP Linux systems, which incorporates several security zones and secure email and home office solutions.  HP's ability to provide secure operating system solutions, to contribute to security strategy and policy, and to manage the project for its entire life-cycle-, were all pivotal in the agency's decision to select HP.

In order to overcome serious performance issues with its existing system in managing its heavily-trafficked Web site -- many customers were unable to access Web services and slow response times were reported -- the State of Brandenburg in Germany switched to a cluster of industry-standard HP ProLiant servers running Linux.  The site, which hosts approximately 29,000 HTML Web pages, now runs Red Hat Advanced Server 2.1 Linux in conjunction with HP ServiceGuard high-availability cluster software on HP ProLiant servers.  The switch to an HP Linux-based solution solved growing system performance issues related to increasing numbers of users and the introduction of more power-hungry applications, ensuring that critical business applications are always available.  Working with HP, Brandenburg-Online enhanced performance and scalability and achieved a substantial reduction in operating costs.

At LinuxWorld, C. J. Coppersmith, director, of Linux strategy, Enterprise Servers and Storage for HP, will deliver a keynote presentation highlighting HP's Linux strategy and, during the event, HP will demonstrate a wide array of products and services at HP Stand C06 Hall 4, including:
* Itanium(r) 2-based HP Integrity servers running 64-bit Linux and
Oracle 9i Real Application Clusters and SAP
* HP high-availability platforms running Linux and SAP
* HP high-availability platforms running Linux and Oracle 9i Real
Application Clusters
* HP Storage management tools and N-Way NAS storage clusters
* Linux mail and groupware solutions
* Red Hat Enterprise Linux on HP industry-standard platforms
* Linux server consolidation
* Linux secure data server
* High availability HP clusters running Linux
* HP grid-enabled technologies running Linux
* Linux running HP Storage Works EVA 3000
* Reuters Market Data System (RMDS) on HP ProLiant servers running
Linux
* Next generation HP systems management platform for Linux
* HP Services, Linux Consulting and Customer Support.

Demonstrating its leadership and commitment to Linux, HP was the first major Linux hardware vendor to offer certain Linux customers indemnification from lawsuits relating to SCO and alleged copyright and other intellectual property infringements within Linux. In addition, HP's Eclipse program offers qualified customers at no cost a combination of assessment, porting and migration evaluation at up to US$25,000 for moving applications from Sun Solaris to Linux.

Over HP
HP levert wereldwijd relevante technologie van vitaal belang voor werk en prive. Het aanbod van HP omvat IT infrastructuur, global services, personal computing en access devices, en imaging en printing oplossingen voor consumenten, grote, middelgrote en kleine organisaties. De laatste vier kwartalen behaalde HP wereldwijd een omzet van $71,3 miljard. Meer informatie over HP is te vinden op http://www.hp.nl.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the proposed contract may not be entered into on the terms or within the timeframe currently contemplated or at all; that the market for the sale of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development and performance of these products and services may not proceed as planned; any statements of belief; any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended July 31, 2003 and HP's other Securities and Exchange Commission reports filed after HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2002. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, HP's results could differ materially from HP's expectations in these statements. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

(c) 2003 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

10/2003

Contactpersonen voor
de redactie:

HP, Jos Baltes
030 283 32 37
jos.baltes@hp.com

Of

H&K/MCS
Marieke Leenhouts
023 562 82 08
mariekel@monogram.nl

Hewlett-Packard Nederland
Startbaan 16
1187 XR Amstelveen
www.hp.nl