HP

Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest technology company, has been on an unending search for ways to cuts costs under Mark V. Hurd, the chief executive.

It took a step Thursday toward drastically reducing the number of partners it has in managing its office space around the world and in providing security for those locations.

H.P. announced it will now rely on just two companies to manage its 62 million square feet of office, manufacturing, development and laboratory space. One company, ISS, will be responsible for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific region. The other management company, Johnson Controls Inc., will handle Latin America and continue its ongoing responsibilities in the United States and Canada.

The contracts reduce H.P.’s management partners to two from 100, a company spokesman said.

Similarly, H.P. is reducing to two its partners charged with providing site security, reception and related services. Security Securitas will handle the United States and Canada (in a contract awarded last year), while much of the rest of the world will be the responsibility of G4S, a company based in West Sussex, England.

Previously, H.P. said, it has had more than 50 security firms.

The cuts represent a couple of trends. One is that H.P. continues its effort to aggressively cut costs; it says the new contracts (for which it disclosed no details) will save the company tens of millions of dollars (over an undisclosed period). The deals also underscore its continuing globalization. With the exception of Johnson Control, which is based in Milwaukee, H.P.’s consolidated partnerships are with companies based overseas. ISS is in Copenhagen, and Security Securitas, despite being responsible for security in the United States, is based in Stockholm