Or so HP is signaling with their announcement today that the EDS division, acquired last year, is to be re-named HP Enterprise Services.

HP has reaped dividends from the acquisition in very little time; EDS was the most profitable division in the company during the 2nd quarter this year, and has proven to be a shot in the arm for a company whose main hardware business was, and will probably continue, to ail. On the public relations front, the deal has been more problematic, resulting in confusion and layoffs at a particularly bad time as CEO Mark Hurd was otherwise attempting to forestall other RIFs by mandating across-the-board pay-cuts for HP staff. As the economy evens out again, however, and services continue to grow as a percentage of the market at the expense of hardware, the rapid acquisition and assimilation will likely continue to serve HP well, leaving competitor Dell to play catch-up, and leaving industry giant IBM on the menu in the coming years.