Hewlett-Packard wants to see a jump in revenues from its software business, the company's chief executive told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

I want to double or triple our current revenue in software from the current level of $5 billion, Chief Executive Meg Whitman said, without giving a timeline.

Whitman, who was appointed in September to replace Leo Apotheker, said the company had not made a decision on the future of its Palm webOS mobile software platform.

It is complicated, she was quoted as saying when asked about the future of the unit. We need a good decision, not a quick one.

Last month sources told Reuters Hewlett-Packard is looking to sell Palm's webOS mobile software platform. The deal could fetch hundreds of millions of dollars but less than the $1.2 billion that HP paid last year.

Former eBay CEO Whitman defended the $12 billion acquisition of British software firm Autonomy, which was closed in October.

The deal, which was the centerpiece of a botched strategy shift that cost ex-chief executive Apotheker his job, was a good acquisition, Whitman told the paper, in an interview published on Thursday.

Autonomy has potential and we can turn it into a fast-growing unit, she said.

(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Jodie Ginsberg)

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