HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components, as well as software and related services to consumers, small and medium-sized businesses ( SMBs), and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors. The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( / ˈ h juː l ɪ t ˈ p æ k ər d/ HEW-lit PAK-ərd) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California.