judith meskill - soc.media.rocks

For InfoWorld, Ephraim Schwartz writes--HP helps users meld business with IT
What stands out in this article for me is that HP has:
"...regrouped all the functions that touch customers in one organization," Kohler said, adding that the goal is to help customers synchronize business and IT in order to capitalize on a changing business environment.
 
To that end, the HP.com Business to Business extranet will give HP enterprise customers global visibility into catalogs, purchasing, and order status, allowing them to procure products across multiple HP regions from a single site. Catalog data will be personalized by industry and customer profile, as will the extranet, which will include account-specific content.
 
An opt-in component will also allow HP to monitor and analyze in real time customers' activities on the Web site, giving HP the ability to link what is happening in support with what is happening in terms of purchasing, for example.
 
...According to HP's Kohler, ECO will also reduce HP's operational costs by streamlining the company's ability to serve customers. HP's efforts at consolidation will help "normalize" the number of calls into HP call centers by giving customers "global consistency," Kohler said.
 
..Perhaps stealing a page from Dell's knowledge management book, HP will also offer a central repository of information that can be accessed globally...