HP Announces Five-year Transition Plan for HP e3000 Server Series

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 14, 2001

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HWP) today announced that it will begin advising customers to transition from HP e3000 servers to other HP server platforms over the next five years. The rapid evolution of technology away from proprietary platforms and customer and partner decisions to move to other HP platforms led to the transition plan.

HP will offer customers assistance for their transition, including migration services, financing options, consulting, outsourcing and education. Customers with newer HP e3000 servers will be able to convert them to HP-UX servers at no cost. Trade-in credits and discounts towards the purchase of the latest HP servers running HP-UX, Microsoft® Windows® or Linux also will be available. In addition, HP is working with e3000 application providers to transition their applications and then their customer bases to other HP platforms.

To ensure customers have time to plan any final server purchases, HP will continue to sell HP e3000 servers until Nov. 1, 2003. During that time, HP plans to provide enhancements, including new processors and storage solutions.

HP also will provide a broad portfolio of support services for the e3000 servers until Jan. 1, 2007. This support is designed to ensure that customers have time to plan and execute a transition to an alternate HP server platform.

"The e3000 was HP's entry into the business computing arena nearly 30 years ago. HP has been fortunate to have had many loyal HP e3000 customers across a broad range of industries worldwide during this period," said Duane Zitzner, president, HP Computing Systems. "HP has been helping customers migrate between platforms for years and we are committed to making this change as easy as possible for our e3000 customers."

HP is working with a number of tools, middleware and system integration partners to offer additional migration tools and services. A comprehensive program is being designed to track the tools and services available and to create linkages between partners to offer customers complete migration solutions. Partners can find more information on HP's partner Web site at http://www.hp.com/dspp/ or they may sign up for the partner transition program at http://www.hp.com/go/developers.

For more details on the HP announcement, please visit http://www.hp.com/go/e3000.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to all. HP had total revenue from continuing operations of $48.8 billion in its 2000 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com/.

HP-UX Release 10.20 and later and HP-UX Release 11.00 and later (in both 32- and 64-bit configurations) on all HP 9000 computers are Open Group UNIX 95 branded products.

UNIX is a registered trademark of the Open Group.

Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the market for the sale of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development of these products and services may not proceed as planned; and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Oct. 31, 2000, and subsequently filed reports. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of these assumptions proves incorrect, HP's results could differ materially from HP's expectations in these statements. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.