The current state of the IT industry is down to a shift in customer attitudes from fancy technology to return on investment (ROI), according to Hewlett Packard (HP) chairman and chief executive Carly Fiorina.

Speaking at the Enterprise Network Storage Architecture (ENSA@Work) conference in Amsterdam, Fiorina said the economic situation alone could not be blamed for the state of the IT industry, as customers are focusing on ROI as their primary requirement for technology.

This is an attitude that is here to stay, and companies ignoring it will fail, she told the 4,000 delegates at the conference.

"It is no longer the glamour of technology but the return on it that is driving customers," Fiorina said. "The market for technology for technology's sake will continue to be slow, but where you can demonstrate solid returns and low total cost of ownership the market will be improving day by day."

Fiorina also committed the company to open standards in all its products, and signalled that a more modular approach to technology design would be key to its strategy for the future.

She promised to offer full support for Linux and Unix platforms, despite HP being one of Microsoft's most active partners. Where HP did not have the expertise to do this, it would partner with those who did, she added.