Hewlett-Packard entered the Big Data platform race in June with HAVEn, an integrated offering that combines Hadoop with technology from Vertica and Autonomy in a unified platform for analytical applications. It features more than 800 connectors for structured, multi-structured, and unstructured data sources, as well as expanding software ecosystem that returned to the limelight at this month’s HP Discover conference in Barcelona.

The event saw the debut of multiple HAVEn-powered applications from big name partners like IT outsourcing giant Wipro, which unveiled a post-sale service management solution geared towards companies in the manufacturing sector. The product is designed to help users enhance customer experience while reducing operational costs, vice president Vegi Srinivasa said.

Two of the Big Four also jumped on the bandwagon, as did Capgemini and tech distributor Avnet, which introduced a specialized healthcare solution that uses HAVEn to combine data from disparate information silos into a “cohesive view” of patient. The resulting insights can not only be used to improve care, but also correlated with operational and financial data to drive efficiencies across historically isolated hospital departments.

Besides reaching out to partners, Hewlett-Packard is also doubling down on HAVEn internally, with CEO Meg Whitman pushing for improving collaboration between the company’s different business units. “The communication that comes from the top and works throughout all the regions, all the product groups in this organization, has been tremendous,” HP Vertica VP and GM Colin Mahony told us at Discover. “We now come up with joint solutions around HAVEn, around appliances, focusing on some vertical markets with what they’re trying to achieve with Big Data,” he added

Rival Dell is pursuing a similar strategy in the cloud in a bid to slow Amazon’s advance into the enterprise. The hardware maker last week announced strategic agreements with Red Hat, Microsoft, Dropbox and a number of other vendors to promote OpenStack and even the cloud services playing field.