Its hard to understand for me why HP is leaving (thinking of leaving) PC business even though 1/3 of its revenue is from this business. I do understand that the competition is tough but PC/smartphone market is on boom. HP can realign its startegy without PC business exit.
I always heard leaders talking about synergy but this is the first time I hear opposite. I do not understand how companies like HP can operate without knowing where they want to go in the next 5 years.This is not definitely expected from leaders of such a huge organizations. But anyways it looks like we are going to see more and more interesting things in the near future for HP.
You are right, Bolaji, the language used by HP's CEO (potential nontransaction, dis-synergies) is not just confusing (as is HP's strategy) but just this side of laughable. The market is long past the day when terms such as "involuntary attrition" work with employees (it's a layoff, stupid) or market watchers.
HP has said it will be considering exiting the PC business, spinning off its PC unit and doing some kind of play in the software and systems space. In fact, if you look at what seems the Plan of the Day, it seems as if HP wants to be Oracle; software-intensive, enterprise-focused. In their spring quarter, HP was hurt by the soft consumer PC market where Dell did better. Now with Dell taking an outlook hit and HP following suit, there was little the company could do except to admit that PCs were not now, nor ever in the future, what they used to be.
In the world financial crisis companies cannot add additional confusion about their own direction. This offends all investors. It will be very intersting to see their next steps.
HP has been struggling as many other companies in this difficult time. By dropping PCs and WebOS-based phones and the TouchPad tablet, HP will be concentrating on faster-growing technologies. They certainly have good reason for investing $11.7 billion to buy British software maker Autonomy Corp. But the future will tell if this was a good decision.
@ Clairvoyant, I agree, it will be interesting to see the outcome of HP's indecision. Like bolaji wrote, it will be hard for HP to sell off it's PC division. Perhaps we might just see a spinoff.
It's very easy to understand why HP is spinning off its computer product line. It wants to follow suit as IBM did in the 90s when it decided to realign the vision. True. the Technology consulting and hosting services are gaining traction in the market place because it doesn't require R&D, manufacturing or keeping inventory. However, I think that HP may have a more harder time because their brand mostly came from printers and computers. They just started to get into to hot areas like Cloud computing or IT consulting. So it will be some time before they can re-image themselves.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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