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HP is planning to spin-off its PC business and focus more on analyzing data. Wow. Check out the WSJ story here.
After getting over the shock of hearing that HP will no longer be involved with making the product that I will probably forever associate them with, I actually like the move. Strategically, PC’s and other IT hardware is a cutthroat business with low profit margins.
Ink for printers, on the other hand, is still selling at ridiculous profit margins, so at least they have that going for them…which is nice.
The story itself is fun, but I’d be interested to hear how CEO Leo Apotheker arrived at this decision, given that other HP execs thought that the strategy, if not the ethics, of Mark Hurd was good. Was it his idea in the shower? Did he speak to consultants? Or, did the exec team actually overcome the bounds of groupthink? I’ll ask all three of my sources, and when they don’t know, I guess I’ll just have to do some good old-fashioned guessing reasoning to come up with the answer.
Check out some other people’s takes below.
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- Hewlett-Packard overhaul exposes underdog status (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- Six reasons why HP’s IBM moment will prove elusive (zdnet.com)
Tags: competitive advantage, Hewlett-Packard, Leo Apotheker, Mark Hurd, Personal computer, Strategy
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