HP's Hurd: Digital content will force enterprise IT overhaul

Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd said Tuesday that the company plans to cut costs more while retooling investments to focus on digital content and software as a percentage of revenue growth. Hurd added that demand for digital content will force enterprises to overhaul technology infrastructure.

First, the cost issue. Hurd has harped on HP's expenses for the last two analyst meetings. To Hurd, HP's cost cutting is a journey not a one-time chore.

"We have a material opportunity to further improve our cost structure," said Hurd. "The best news for us is we have depth in understanding where that cost is."

HP is hoping it can utilize its scale and heft to be more efficient about the $10 million to $11 million it spends an hour just to keep running.

While the cost cutting forges ahead, Hurd noted that HP needs to focus on high-growth areas. One big area is revamping information technology infrastructure to serve a world awash in digital content.

"Digital content is creating pressure on IT infrastructure. [The younger generation) is used to getting instant access. That will put pressure on enterprises. My daughter is 12 and doesn't understand why you can't call a company and get an instant response. She doesn't understand why there isn't a search box on every site."

Hurd's answer: It's complicated due to legacy infrastructure. Internally, HP is wrestling with its infrastructure as are most of its customers. HP sees that necessary retooling as an opportunity as a $1.2 trillion market. To get there, HP plans on skewing its product mix more toward software. Here's the plan as HP retools.