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HP, HITACHI TO SHARE INFORMATION ON STORAGE SYSTEMS

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co and Japan's Hitachi Ltd have agreed to swap information about their storage devices, making it easier for them to build software that can manage both of their systems.

The agreement is the third this summer for Palo Alto, CA-based HP, which has also agreed to work with competitors EMC Corp and International Business Machines Corp.

HP vice president of storage software Mark Sorenson said that by the end of this year HP will have on the market storage software that can manage competing systems. He said the company will provide more details about those plans in the next month.

Data storage is increasingly important as companies move their business online, but management of storage systems from competing vendors is extremely difficult.

Traditional vendors of computers and storage systems, such as HP, IBM and storage industry leader EMC, are pushing to create software that can manage those competing systems, which requires them to work more closely with each other.

The move comes as profits on sales of the hardware component of data storage systems have decreased.

HP said it will have the information it needs on two different Hitachi lines and that Hitachi will have access to information on four of HP's storage systems, including the two systems that it picked up when it bought Compaq Computer in May.

HP already works closely with Hitachi and resells one of its data storage systems under the HP brand.