Hewlett-Packard Co. may have given up on last fall's negotiations to acquire the consulting practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, but the desire to expand its consultancy services hasn't waned. On Tuesday, the firm announced an alliance with Accenture, and the combined group has plans to eat away at an IT market monopolized by IBM. The HP/Accenture alliance views IBM Global Services as its chief competitor.

The two companies plan to work together to help large companies move their applications from mainframes to newer computer systems. An alliance between the two companies has existed for three years. The companies are now formalizing their alliance and hoping to expand it.

HP expects the arrangement with Accenture to enable the computer firm to sell more hardware and software, including Sun and IBM hardware, according to Ann Livermore, head of HP Services. "Our goal is to offer companies the best solutions," according to Ms. Livermore.

Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, has been on a mission to restructure the company. Neither HP nor Accenture offered any comment on whether HP would attempt to acquire Accenture. There is no money changing hands in the current alliance, and both companies have left the door open to pursue alliances with others.