HP is a leading technology solutions provider to consumers, business and institutions, delivering IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing for consumers, enterprises and small and medium businesses.

HP offers the broadest range of IT products and services to consumers and business customers, from servers and computers to printers and digital cameras. Direct sales of these products to consumers and small and medium businesses are fulfilled via the HP Store (for consumers) and the HP Business Store.

More About HP

HP delivers vital technology for business and life. The company's solutions span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing for consumers, enterprises and small and medium business.

HP's USD 4 billion annual R and D investment fuels the invention of products, solutions and new technologies, so that HP can better serve customers and enter new markets. HP invent, engineer and deliver technology solutions that drive business value, create social value and improve the lives of HP's customers.

The 2002 merger with Compaq Computer Corporation forged a dynamic, powerful team of 140,000 employees with capabilities in 178 countries doing business in more than 40 currencies and more than 10 languages. Revenues for the combined companies were $72 billion for the fiscal year that ended October 31, 2002. Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina leads HP, which has corporate headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

HP's four core business groups

Enterprise Systems Group (ESG) - focuses on providing the key technology components of enterprise IT infrastructure to enhance business agility, including enterprise storage, servers, management software and a variety of solutions.

Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) - HP is the leading provider of printing and imaging solutions for both business and consumer use. IPG includes printer hardware, all-in-ones, digital imaging devices such as cameras and scanners, and associated supplies and accessories. It also is expanding into the commercial printing market.

HP Services (HPS) - HP Services is a premier, global IT services team. It offers guidance, know-how and a comprehensive portfolio of services to help HP customers realize measurable business value from their IT investments.

Personal Systems Group (PSG) - focuses on supplying simple, reliable and affordable personal-computing solutions and devices for home and business use, including desktop PCs, notebooks, workstations, thin clients, smart handhelds and personal devices.

In addition to the four business groups, HP Labs provides a central research function for the company. HP Labs is focused on inventing new technologies that change markets and create business opportunities.

It all began in "The Garage" and a pie shop

Stanford University classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded HP in 1939. The HP company's first product, built in a Palo Alto garage, was an audio oscillator - an electronic test instrument used by sound engineers. One of HP's first customers was Walt Disney Studios, which purchased eight oscillators to develop and test an innovative sound system for the movie "Fantasia".

Compaq Computer Corporation was formed after a 1982 meeting in a Houston, Texas, pie shop. Together, employees in the new HP share a passion for satisfying customers, an intense focus on teamwork, speed and agility, and a commitment to trust and respect for all individuals.

Doing well by doing good

Since HP's first year in business in 1939, HP has given back to the communities in which HP do business in the form of philanthropic donations of money, equipment and time. While the scale and reach of HP's business have changed during the past 60 years, HP's commitment to communities hasn't.

The challenge is to continue to shape the impact of corporations as a constructive force, using HP's heritage and HP's actions as tools for doing so. Today, HP are employing new models of engagement and new business and technology solutions to enable more people to participate in the world economy via information technology.