synaesthesia Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 Bit of a surprise? BBC News - Hewlett Packard to exit computing and buy Autonomy Not a huge fan of their hardware, but their warranty system was the dogs nads, I have always *hated* their hardware with a passion!
localzuk Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 Wow, that's a huge change of focus! I'm a fan of their hardware. Their business stuff is always good quality, their printers are too. And their network gear is excellent. Their warranty support for business is top notch too.
Dos_Box Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 Will that include laptops too? I note several articles mention slates, handhelds and other devices, but I can't find a mention of laptops, although I would assume they are lumping these under PC's. If they successfully sell of this arm of HP, will it be taken over by a company that will do it justice like IBM's handover to Lenovo I wonder, or will the new incumbant just milk the name and models for everthing they are worth? Who's going to be the first to try?
steve Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 No mention yet on servers / storage / printers / network equipment. IBM kept its server manufacturing for a while after selling its PC manufacturing to Lenovo. Hopefully HP will keep it's enterprise / backend manufacturing for a long while.
plexer Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 I can't actually say what I really want to say about this. We are 95% on desktops. Ben
FN-GM Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 I like the HP hardware but i have yet to find a good experience with the tech support. So what are they actually stopping. I would be a shame to see the end to servers, desktops, laptops and printers. 1
localzuk Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 Its a strange move, considering they are the number 1 supplier at the moment for PCs, and made half a billion profit last quarter. Considering HP bought Compaq, and merged it in only a decade ago, this seems like a strange move to me. One of the great things about HP to many businesses is that it is a one stop shop for pretty much everything. They do complete end to end solutions, from mainframe grade equipment running their own unix systems, down to the PCs, phones, laptops etc... on the user end, connected together by HP switches. I'm guessing this will be much like IBM's Lenovo sell-off. Desktops and laptops only, as they are the least profitable area of the computer world. Servers are not within the personal computer group, nor are switches etc... I wonder what company would be interested in purchasing the business. Someone like Google maybe...
Dos_Box Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 No mention yet on servers / storage / printers / network equipment. IBM kept its server manufacturing for a while after selling its PC manufacturing to Lenovo. Hopefully HP will keep it's enterprise / backend manufacturing for a long while. TBH, the profit margins on desktops, laptops etc are minimal as opposed to servers and networking equipment where companies and organisations ae more than willing to open their wallets to get leading edge technologies and reliability on high performance kit. The same goes for printers, HP will more than likely keep these as high capacity/performace workgroup printers still make a profit from consumables as well as on the initial purchase.
dgsmith Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 As above, does it encompas ALL hardware (desktops, printers, switches, laptops etc)? I can't find any clarity on that. Quite a massive shock. Whilst we only have a handful of HP desktops, we've been very happy with them and have a number of Procurve switches too - another line I think HP have done very well in.
Michael Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 Its a strange move, considering they are the number 1 supplier at the moment for PCs, and made half a billion profit last quarter. I am pretty sure their turnover must of been absolutely enormous. To me I think this is a classic example of quit whilst you're ahead. It might be profitable at the moment, but for how long at this level? The computer industry is changing all the time.
Arthur Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 I have always *hated* their hardware with a passion! Their servers and EliteBooks were very good. HPs website on the other-hand is horrible and poorly designed (I won't miss that). As above, does it encompas ALL hardware (desktops, printers, switches, laptops etc)? I can't find any clarity on that. From Bloomberg... Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), the world’s largest computer maker, agreed to buy Autonomy Corp. for $10.3 billion in cash to increase sales of cloud services for businesses while lessening its reliance on personal computers. Autonomy shareholders will receive $42.11 a share, Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard said in a statement. That represents a 64 percent premium over Autonomy’s closing share price yesterday. Hewlett-Packard also said it’s considering spinning off its PC division and that it will discontinue products that run WebOS software. Hewlett-Packard shares dropped after the company issued forecasts that missed estimates. Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker, who took the helm at Hewlett-Packard in November, is unraveling the expansion into PCs that accelerated with the 2002 Compaq Computer Corp. deal. He’s also broadening in so-called cloud services, which help business customers handle computing tasks over the Internet. “Their focus is on being more of a software and services company and not dependent on the hardware businesses,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner Inc. “The hardware business has become a difficult business. In many ways it’s a commodity-driven business. This is a major strategic shift for HP.” By discontinuing WebOS products, Apotheker is backtracking on a strategy, announced just five months ago, to put WebOS software on every Hewlett-Packard computer. Former CEO Carly Fiorina acquired Compaq for $17.6 billion. (Source) It's a shame to see WebOS go, but HP never really stood a chance against iOS and Android.
GrumbleDook Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 For me I can see the networking equipment hitting many schools who have been HP and/or 3COM for some time. I suppose it is a case of wait and see how it spins.
ZeroHour Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 The thing is I never thought of HP as a software business anyway, whats their portfolio in that area? This tbh is bad for all, reducing competition is never good.
plexer Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 For me I can see the networking equipment hitting many schools who have been HP and/or 3COM for some time. I suppose it is a case of wait and see how it spins. Nothing been said they are getting out of networking atm though? Ben
localzuk Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 I am pretty sure their turnover must of been absolutely enormous. To me I think this is a classic example of quit whilst you're ahead. It might be profitable at the moment, but for how long at this level? The computer industry is changing all the time. Turnover in the pc business was about $9.2bn last quarter, with just over half a billion profit.
webman Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 Hurrah! HP laptops are rubbish from my experience anyway, I will be glad to see the back of them 3
FN-GM Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 Anyoe know what will happen to their warrenties? I will bet allot that they will honor them. They will probably have to by law.
Arthur Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 A few quotes from the WSJ on HP's earnings conference call... HP networking, which makes things like Ethernet switches, grew 17% year over year. Lesjak says competitors are actually seeing declines. Why not just spin off the PC business right now rather than leaving the possibility of another deal? The board is going to need time to determine the best path of action, Apotheker says. Strangely, it sounds like that decision could include doing nothing. Autonomy is going to be run as a separate entity, but HP is going to be looking for "synergies" ...
AngryTechnician Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 Focus on software. Right. Because they're so good at software. I mean, their printer drivers are some of the most streamlined and reliable in the industry... 2
Arthur Posted August 19, 2011 Posted August 19, 2011 This means Apple will become the world's biggest PC-maker (by unit sales) if you count iPad's as PCs. 1
Arthur Posted August 19, 2011 Posted August 19, 2011 (edited) I wonder what company would be interested in purchasing the business. I bet it will be Acer, as their CEO is desperate for them to be number one. After seeing this, maybe not. Someone like Google maybe... Very unlikely IMO. It might be profitable at the moment, but for how long at this level? The computer industry is changing all the time. http://i.imgur.com/UV4Fi.jpg When HP spins out its PC division, what will be left in the company? Everything above except for the "Personal Systems Group." And really, that's not so bad. The Personal Systems Group, which is home to the PC business, has been basically flat for the past four years. Meanwhile, its services business has been growing pretty nicely. It makes sense to focus on that. (Source) Edited August 19, 2011 by Arthur
SYNACK Posted August 19, 2011 Posted August 19, 2011 I would like to say things but all of them are prohibited on the forum. Did Apple get an agent in there to skuttle the company. HP were the one good brand in my experience as I have had horrible issues either with hardware or service from everyone else. Damn them, I hope the board that voted for this gets in a horrible and fatal accident. What the hell are they thinking. I guess they could sell off the hardware arm but I fear another IBM like deal where the quality of the equipment rapidly approaches zero. 1
synaesthesia Posted August 19, 2011 Author Posted August 19, 2011 Aye the servers were alright. It's been laptops that I hate with a passion and some of their desktops are just cringeworthy. Not to say it's a good thing though - it's one large competitor out of the business - which is never a good thing.
networkingNut Posted August 19, 2011 Posted August 19, 2011 (edited) I hope they don't ditch the Procure kit as we have it throughout the school. All our hardware is 95% HP (DC7600 - DC8000 Elite), with a few Toshiba's and Compaq laptops. Apparently the PC sector has been declining for three years in a row, and software, and enterprise have been growing. http://www.businessinsider.com/hp-earnings-2011-8 Edited August 19, 2011 by networkingNut found an interesting URL
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