Internet News: HP Refocuses Labs On Winning Projects

"HP is refocusing its Labs research arm, paring down the number of projects it has going while putting more effort into the ones it thinks will pay off, the company announced at an event here at its corporate headquarters.
HP Labs has produced many of the company's best-known products, from the first pocket-sized scientific calculator to thermal inkjets. But along the way, the computer giant's research efforts have got a little defocused. With 23 labs total in seven locations around the world, the company had more than 150 projects going on, some of which were going nowhere.
"This is a total team HP effort, not just an HP Labs effort. We expect HP Labs to be at the forefront and we will be a lot more transparent on the research we are working on and keeping you up to date on things we have coming," said Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd, who spoke only briefly at the event.
So the company is paring down and focusing on the winners, and bringing in the marketing department to help give the engineers and developers a better shot at making their inventions commercially viable. "By putting the entire focus of HP Labs onto 20 or 30 big bets, we hope to solve the most complicated problems facing our customers in the next decade and driving HP's growth," said Prith Banerjee, senior vice president of research at HP (NYSE:HPQ) and director of HP Labs.
To assist the researchers in making the right bets, HP has established an internal review board consisting of top technologists and researchers to transform these technologies into something deliverable to the marketplace. "