HP VP: Innovation Will Drive Public Sector Sales

Speaking to about 100 solution providers at Everything Channel's Xchange Government Integrator Conference, Humke said that even with budget crises like the one in California where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has terminated unfilled contracts, including government IT contracts, there is opportunity.

"For every challenge there is an opportunity," said Humke. "I truly believe we have an opportunity in these economic times to truly make a difference. And that difference is really going to be decided by innovation."

Customers are demanding "innovative ideas" from their solution provider partners, said Humke. "They want you to understand their business better than they do," he said. "They want you to come to the table with ideas quite frankly that they have not thought of."

One key to being successful, said Humke, is providing solutions that lower costs. "You can't have innovation without lowering costs," he said. "You have to provide improved return on investment. You have to help teachers and agencies improve their efficiencies."

HP itself has delivered on the lower cost innovation theme by dramatically reshaping its IT infrastructure reducing 85 global data centers to six data centers in three locations, reducing energy consumption by 60 percent and bringing the number of applications it uses from 6,000 to 1,500, said Humke. That has resulted not only in a significant drop in IT costs but has upped HP's innovation quotient by focusing 80 percent of HP's IT employees on "innovation" rather than supporting and maintaining systems. "How many of your agencies or schools would like to raise their hands and say that?" he asked. All in all over the last five years, HP has reduced its operating costs by 50 percent under HP CEO Mark Hurd, said Humke.

Besides lowering costs, solution providers must bring game changing solutions to the table that move the public sector into the new collaborative computing era, said Humke.

For example, Humke said there is little difference between the classroom of the 1960s and and today. "What has changed?" he asked.

Humke said there is a great opportunity to create a "personalized" learning environment with innovative technology solutions. "Each one of you learns differently than the person next to you," he said. "The key behind all of this is how do you connect students to the world so when they walk out of the classroom you have created an environment so it doesn't matter where they are."

Technology can make learning more interactive and collaborative so that the teacher becomes a "facilitator and the students become the teacher," said Humke. "It's very game changing. But if we are going to change and move into an environment where we do things differently that is how we have to start to think."

In the health care arena, Humke said, one innovative idea is "digital hospital" technology that instantly identifies a patient's medical records no matter where the patient is in the country or the world. "You have got to think we at HP and our partners can change the game and replace a manual process when you check into a hospital to providing something that gives you an integrated feel, that shares information across the world," he said. "Something that gets away from the physical integration and focuses on the ecosystem."

Tola Danmola, president of Mola Computers & Consulting, an HP partner, said HP is delivering on its "innovation" clarion call with products that best the competition. He said his company just won a $150,000 HP ProCurve deal besting rival Cisco.

Danmola said HP "trumps" Cisco not only with its product set but with regard to partner profitability.

Danmola said HP's public sector programs and support are outstanding. But he said he would like to see HP work more closely with him to help identify government RFPs (request for proposals) and RFQ (request for quotes). "We'd like to see HP work more hand in hand with us to get government contracts," he said.

Danmola is aiming to grow his business from $3.5 million to $5 million this year. "It is not a slam dunk market," he said. "The key is working with contract officers and contract specialists to be able to get the RFQ and RFP before it gets to the public."