By Richard Koman for SiliconValleyWatcher.com

Steve Smith, head of HP's $15 billion services business has left the company, the Financial Times reports.

With revenue increasing in the group just 1% last quarter and, as the FT notes, "expanding HP’s services footprint has emerged as a top priority for HP under the leadership of Mark Hurd," it's reasonable to suspect that the resignation was not all Smith's idea.

Rumor has it that HP is getting ready to acquire European IT integrator Atos Origin and last week extended its tender for Mercury Interactive for the fourth time.

An HP spokeswoman said Mr Smith had resigned for personal reasons. She said Ann Livermore, head of the technology solutions group, would take over Mr Smith’s role while the company looked for a replacement.