HEWLETT-PACKARD LIMITED

Their core work

Hewlett-Packard Limited (HP Labs Bristol) is the UK research arm of HP, contributing high-performance computing expertise, cybersecurity solutions, and cloud infrastructure engineering to European R&D consortia. Their work spans exascale programming models for next-generation supercomputers, network function virtualization for security, and software-defined infrastructure optimization. In H2020 projects, they typically bring industrial-grade systems engineering and large-scale deployment experience that academic partners lack.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

HP's early H2020 engagement (2016-2017) centered on network security and NFV-based cybersecurity, reflecting the industry's push toward virtualized security functions. From 2018 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward high-performance computing — exascale programming, heterogeneous hardware architectures, and infrastructure-as-code optimization. The most recent project (PALANTIR, 2020) circles back to security but with an AI-driven, software-defined angle, suggesting a convergence of their HPC and security tracks.

HP is moving toward AI-augmented infrastructure management where HPC capabilities meet automated cybersecurity — expect future work at this intersection.

How they like to work

HP participates exclusively as a partner, never coordinating — consistent with large companies contributing specialist capability without taking on project management overhead. With 45 unique partners across 16 countries in just 5 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia (averaging 9+ partners per project). This makes them an accessible partner: they are experienced at fitting into complex multi-national teams without dominating them.

Across 5 projects, HP has collaborated with 45 distinct partners in 16 countries, indicating broad European reach and no geographic clustering. Their network spans both academic HPC centers and cybersecurity-focused SMEs.

What sets them apart

HP brings the rare combination of enterprise-scale infrastructure experience with deep research capability — few partners can simultaneously contribute to exascale programming models and deploy production-grade security platforms. Their HP Labs pedigree means they bridge the gap between academic research and industrial deployment better than most large companies. For consortium builders, HP adds credibility, real-world testing environments, and a path to commercial adoption that reviewers value highly.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EPiGRAM-HS
  Largest HP budget (EUR 425K) and most technically ambitious — targeting exascale programming across accelerators, reconfigurable hardware, and novel memory architectures.
• PALANTIR
  Most recent project combining AI, security-as-a-service, and software-driven networks — represents HP's convergent direction and focus on SME cyber-resilience.
• SHIELD
  Earliest project establishing HP's NFV cybersecurity credentials, combining virtual security functions with big data analytics.