HP is set to hand over $US10 billion in cash to to acquire UK software giant Autonomy, a purchase that will see the company marketing a broad portfolio of overlapping document and records management and email archiving solutions.

Autonomy’s Worksite product, acquired with the purchase of Interwoven in 2009 for $US775M,  has a leading market position in the legal and financial sector. Prominent local Worksite users include leading Australian law firms Freehills, Norton Rose and Gadens and  HLB Mann Judd, one of Australia’s leading accounting firms.

When HP acquired Australia’s Tower and the TRIM EDRMS in 2008, the company saw acquisition as its spearhead into the “fast-growing electronic discovery and compliance software market.” The same mantra is now being recited following the purchase of Autonomy, which sells competing platforms.

The TRIM EDRMS has a strong uptake in all levels of government in Australia.

According to HP’s announcement, following the acquisition, Autonomy will operate separately and continue to be led by founder Dr Mike Lynch

Integrating the Autonomy product set into HP will be a challenge, according to Enterprise Strategy Group e-discovery analyst Katey Wood.

"On the product side, it will mean some serious portfolio rationalisation," Wood wrote in her blog.

"In archiving, Autonomy possesses its Zantaz archiving line, including Digital Safe, the acquired Information Governance assets of CA, and now Mimosa following the recent acquisition of Iron Mountain’s digital assets, while HP has its own Integrated Archiving Platform. In records management, HP has TRIM, where Autonomy has Meridio and iManage content management from its acquisition of Interwoven.”

HP also announced it is discontinuing its TouchPad and Pre tablets and smartphones, acquired when it bought Palm in 2010.

Léo Apotheker, HP president and CEO, said "Autonomy brings to HP higher value business solutions that will help customers manage the explosion of information. Together with Autonomy, we plan to reinvent how both unstructured and structured data is processed, analysed, optimised, automated and protected.

“Autonomy has an attractive business model, including a strong cloud based solution set, which is aligned with HP's efforts to improve our portfolio mix. We believe this bold action will squarely position HP in software and information to create the next-generation Information Platform, and thereby, create significant value for our shareholders."