PALO ALTO, Calif. -- HP (NYSE:HPQ - News; Nasdaq:HPQ - News) has developed service-oriented architecture (SOA) frameworks targeting four industries that are ripe to adopt the latest trend in software development.

Designed for the financial services, manufacturing and distribution, network service provider and public sector industries, HP's SOA frameworks allow customers to more readily integrate software applications, take advantage of market opportunities and gain competitive advantage.

SOA is an approach for managing computing environments that uses loosely coupled, reusable and standards-based services to address changing business needs.

IDC forecasts that worldwide SOA-based external services spending will reach $8.6 billion in 2006, from $3.6 billion in 2005, an increase of 138 percent. By 2010, external spending for SOA services is expected to be more than $33.8 billion on a global basis.(1)

HP's SOA frameworks improve communication and information sharing among customers, partners and colleagues by extracting data locked in legacy applications. They also provide tested, bundled services to help customers assess, design and accelerate the implementation of applications while reducing operational and maintenance costs.

"HP recognizes that each industry has very specific business and technology requirements to effectively run their operations," said Uday Kumaraswami, vice president, Worldwide Enterprise Applications Practice, HP Services. "HP's SOA vertical frameworks are tailored to speed up processes and provide a flexible foundation for continuous improvements in their respective industries."

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ)