The takeover, which is a triumph for Mike Lynch who launched Autonomy from his Cambridge bedroom with a £2,000 loan in 1996, has produced rumblings of concern about the future of the UK software industry. Veteran analyst Richard Holway commented, "," for example.

But Autonomy will remain headquartered in Cambridge, and all key R&D will remain in the city. Autonomy's UK employees will share a £30 million share options bonanza.

CEO Mike Lynch will report directly to Leo Apotheker, CEO of HP and Autonomy's current management team will remain at the helm, according to the company.

Mergers and acquisitions of this kind always result in disruption and personnel change, and there have been question marks over Autonomy's management structure.

Last October, Marc Geall, a Deutsche Bank analyst and former head of investor relations at Autonomy :