Mike Feldman VP, IPG Global Enterprise Business

These are exciting times. Not surprisingly, press and industry analyst response to HP’s announcement of a definitive agreement to acquire EDS has been both massive and mixed. Whether pro or con, every article I’ve read reports on the surge in profits since Mark Hurd joined HP three years ago. Because of that success, I suppose it only stands to reason that we’re facing some skepticism. Plus, the story wouldn’t be as compelling if every reporter and pundit agreed with our positive outlook. That said, it’s hard not to prefer coverage like Fortune’s “Big Tech” Blog by Jon Fortt, “Why HP is smart to gamble on EDS.”

I’ve been through the successful integration of several acquisitions over the years, including the highly-charged $20 billion purchase of Compaq Computer. What I see with this acquisition is an integration that plays to our strengths in operational excellence and execution. This deal is consistent with both HP’s and EDS’ commitment to delivering value to customers. We are 100% focused on helping customers manage and transform their technology for better business results.

HP has a stated objective of increasing our services business. This acquisition will more than double that business and bring scale and reach to our offerings. As it relates to enterprise imaging and printing, this deal represents a significant opportunity for our go-to-market capabilities as more and more customers chose to outsource their printing environment and pursue a Print 2.0 strategy. The combination of EDS and HP will bring together best-in class hardware, software and services and will expand our reach in vertical markets such as public sector and healthcare.

This deal is good for our customers, good for HP, and good for EDS.

Technorati tags: enterprise printing, hp, Hewlett Packard, EDS