Hardware and services have been donated by Intel, Hewlett-Packard and Google.
The company has lately tried to diversify into hardware and services now in demand.
Compaq, based in Houston, is the world's No. 2 supplier of computer hardware and services, behind I.B.M.
The alliance, begun in March, originally called for software, hardware and services to aid e-commerce in the food and drug segment of the retail industry.
Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, EDS, Accenture and other companies are working on the software, hardware and services for utility computing.
Working closely with Intel and Microsoft, Mr. Hackborn says, Hewlett-Packard can be the leading designer of Itanium-based server computers and supplier of related hardware and services.
ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS CORP., Plano, Tex., and Dell Computer, Round Rock, Tex., are extending their support of each other's hardware and services business.
Sun argues that mass distribution of its software will lead to more hardware and services revenue, although results have been lackluster so far.
The notion of organizing the company around the trinity of modern technology products — software, hardware and services — is most famously used by Apple.
H.P., a leader in sales of personal computers and printers as well as data center hardware and services, said revenue declined in all of its major businesses.
Dell has also been lambasted for paying a hefty premium to win Perot's hand.Yet splicing hardware and services firms together can pay off handsomely.
