The perception of Hewlett-Packard by other companies has suffered somewhat as a result of HP's boardroom scandal, according to a survey by Forrester Research. But only a few HP customers said the controversy would affect their purchasing plans.
The results are based on a small sampling of 44 responses to e-mails sent by Forrester to 240 members of its CIO Group. Among the current HP customers responding to the survey, most are keeping their existing purchasing plans intact, the industry analysis company reported.
"Three out of 28 companies did report a negative impact on their existing plans to work with HP," wrote Forrester analyst Frank Gillett, the main author of the research note. "This is surely concerning for HP, but Forrester believes that the poll results are not conclusive as to whether HP faces more than a minor problem."
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has filed charges against five people in the case, including former HP Chairwoman Patricia Dunn, for obtaining private phone records of HP board members and other employees as well as reporters. The company obtained the records in an attempt to discover the source of boardroom leaks. In addition to Dunn, Kevin Hunsaker, HP's former ethics counsel, and three private investigators face charges.
Forrester recommended that CIOs at other companies ignore the scandal. "Unless the investigations threaten CEO Mark Hurd's position, Forrester believes there will be little impact on the company that is relevant to choosing whether to work with HP or not," the company said.
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