H-P Acquires Consulting Firm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hewlett-Packard(HPQ - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) announced Monday the acquisition of a consulting firm that specializes in designing and operating large data centers.

The acquisition of EYP Mission Critical Services, the price of which was not disclosed, furthers its efforts to play a leading role in data centers, the computer-crammed facilities that power key business operations of many corporations.

H-P CEO Mark Hurd has flagged corporate data centers as one of the three key markets that will drive H-P's growth going forward.

In July H-P shelled out $1.6 billion to acquire Opsware, which makes software for automating data-center tasks such as setting-up servers and networks.

EYP, based in New York, has roughly 350 employees in 13 offices in the U.S. and the U.K. The company has designed hundreds of technology facilities -- from trading floors to supercomputing sites -- where energy efficiency and the ability to monitor computer performance are key requirements.

"Acquiring EYP Mission Critical Facilities boosts H-P's ability to help customers transform their data centers and build dynamic computing environments from the ground up," said H-P's services group manager John McCain in a statement.

The deal is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to close within H-P's fiscal first quarter.

In early trading, HP shares were up 17 cents or 0.35% to $48.56.