Hewlett-Packard confirmed that it has quietly named Mark Potter, one of its top server executives, to a new role where he will coordinate technology development between the company's server business and HP Labs.
Potter late last month was internally unveiled as the CTO and senior vice president for infrastructure technology strategy for HP's Enterprise Group.
In his new position, Potter is working with both HP's server business unit and HP Labs to "accelerate HP's enterprise technology innovation agenda to a broader customer audience," an HP spokesperson told CRN via email.
[Related: HP CTO Lays Out HP's Vision For Future Computer Architecture]
Potter previously served as senior vice president and general manager for HP servers.
In his new role, Potter will continue to report to Bill Veghte, executive vice president and general manager for HP’s Enterprise Group, the spokesperson wrote.
Antonio Neri, former head of HP Technology Services (TS), is taking over Potter's previous role.
Potter's promotion will have a positive impact on HP's technology development, said Rich Baldwin, CIO and chief strategy officer at Nth Generation Computing, a San Diego-based solution provider and longtime HP partner.
"HP was way ahead of the industry a few years ago," Baldwin said. "It had a considerable lead in blade servers and other technologies. But we haven't seen any real innovations for several quarters. It's time for a change."
With Veghte, the channel can expect to see more changes in HP's Enterprise Group, Baldwin said. "HP will look at each unit and say, 'It's time for a wake-up call,"' he said.
For instance, HP needs to get its storage business back on track, Baldwin said. He said that the company's EVA storage line is gone and its LeftHand storage line is more of a commodity product, leaving its HP 3PAR storage business the only part that is growing.
PUBLISHED OCT. 3, 2013
