HP has announced it will consolidate its 85 data centers worldwide into six larger centers located in three U.S. cities.

Palo Alto-based HP (NYSE: HPQ) said its IT infrastructure will be located in two facilities each in Atlanta, Houston, and Austin, Texas, and will save about $1 billion in the coming years and make its IT organization "more nimble" and better able to provide information for the entire company.

The move is another in cost-cutting measures by Chief Executive Mark Hurd, who said earlier he plans to cut HP jobs by 15,300. The company did not say how many jobs would be lost in the data-center consolidation.

"The data centers will provide our business with more dependable, simplified operations," said Randy Mott, executive vice president and chief information officer, in a prepared statement.

The centers will be closed in the next three to four years, and HP plans to add more automated equipment that will rely less on workers. HP has designed the six facilities to be "lights out" data centers, capable of being managed remotely.

HP said it also is implementing smart cooling technologies that will save utility costs by up to 25 percent.

The company said the locations were selected based on availability and affordability of space, power and network bandwidth, as well as a lower probability of impact from natural disasters. Each location will host two separate physical sites with more than 50,000 square feet of floor space.

The company's HP Services unit will continue to operate in more than 70 separate data centers in 23 countries, which also will use HP's adaptive infrastructure products and services.

Shares of Hewlett-Packard rose $1.09, or 3.5 percent, to $32.20 in morning trading, boosted by Tuesday's quarterly report showing a 51 percent increased in profits.

Source: East Bay Business Times