Called Business Information Optimization, the unit effectively merges two groups, BI and information management, and will include software sourced from across the company.
The move speaks volumes of HP’s growing ambitions in the data warehousing and BI space.
At the end of last year the Palo Alto, California-based hardware giant took the lid off its new NeoView enterprise data warehousing system that is built on Tandem’s NonStop database and Integrity servers and partner BI and data integration technologies.
The Business Information Optimization unit will now take full responsibility for the development and marketing of NeoView and HP’s other archiving and data management systems.
HP stealthily launched NeoView last October but has since been suspiciously quiet about the product.
HP also acquired privately held BI and data warehousing-focused consultancy and services firm Knightsbridge Solutions Holding Corp last December, to further underscore its looming presence in the market.
Last year HP also pledged to work with several BI vendors to promote its OpenView Business Process Insight software. It has also recently delivered BI-related offerings in partnerships with Oracle Corp.
HP has hired Ben Barnes as general manager of its Business Information Optimization unit. Barnes previously served as CEO of identity solutions firm ActivIdentity Inc, but also has considerable BI experience in previous roles at IBM Corp and NCR Teradata Corp.
The establishment of the new division is probably due to the influence of HP’s new CEO Mark Hurd, who is a former CEO of NCR and also managed the Teradata division that NeoView competes directly against.
