News - HP to spin-off PCs, buy Autonomy, do an IBM

[HEXUS]

A fundamental corporate transformation will see HP focus on B2B.

Read more.

[scaryjim]

shaped heavily by secular market trends

Does that mean that the sacred market is trending in a different direction?

Or is this some strange new use of the word "secular" of which I was not previously aware?

[Scott B]

Does that mean that the sacred market is trending in a different direction?

Or is this some strange new use of the word "secular" of which I was not previously aware?

Not sure if this helps: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secular

Looking forward to crossy's take on this.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

They are going to be still making servers and WebOS maybe used on devices other than smartphones and tablets:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/...n_8630956.html

However,it would be nice if they would clarify if they are continuing to make and support monitors,printers and scanners for consumers. AFAIK,they have said nothing about these sides of their business. This could mean they hopefully will be fine for the time being.

[Scott B]

They are going to be still making servers and WebOS maybe used on devices other than smartphones and tablets:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/...n_8630956.html

However,it would be nice if they would clarify if they are continuing to make and support monitors,printers and scanners for consumers. AFAIK,they have said nothing about these sides of their business. This could mean they hopefully will be fine for the time being.

I've seen nothing in the HP statements about servers or printers, but given its stated aim to focus on the enterprise and SMB markets, it would be counter-intuitive for them to drop either. The PSG announcement seems to be an acknowledgement that you can't just pull out of consumers and keep business, so consumer printers look safe.

[semo]

I've seen nothing in the HP statements about servers or printers, but given its stated aim to focus on the enterprise and SMB markets, it would be counter-intuitive for them to drop either. The PSG announcement seems to be an acknowledgement that you can't just pull out of consumers and keep business, so consumer printers look safe.

As much as I despise HP and their poor offshore CS and other support, I would hate for them to leave the digital imaging market. Unfortunately, it is a very niche market and as such, the equipment is hard to find and expensive for what it is. I just bought a documate and it was faulty from the get go. I've seen negative reviews of scanners that cost £500. If someone needs a scanner they just buy the cheap AIOs which devalues a very useful technology.

Anyway, I'm sure their scanner division is closely related to their MFP division. Digital printing is big these days and HP would do better if they lowered the price of their MFPs and be more competitive in that market (Indigo is doing fine by the looks of it).

[scaryjim]

Not sure if this helps: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secular

Not really! I think this may be another Inigo / Vizzini moment...

[crossy]

I've seen nothing in the HP statements about servers or printers, but given its stated aim to focus on the enterprise and SMB markets, it would be counter-intuitive for them to drop either. The PSG announcement seems to be an acknowledgement that you can't just pull out of consumers and keep business, so consumer printers look safe.

That's a pretty fair summation of the situation - remember that the press release also said: (my underlines)

A post-transaction HP would continue to help its customers manage the information explosion and address their most critical needs through a portfolio that spans printing, software, services, servers, storage and networking.

So that means it is only PSG that's going. Personally I'm a little confused by this - sure there's not much margin on desktop PC's and laptops - but last market share figures I saw gave HP the lion's share. Is it really that easy to walk away from a market segment where you're leading?

Not sure who's flush enough to buy PSG - the only one that comes to mind is Apple, sure they could buy PSG with "pocket change" but it's a horrible thought (or is it?). I would have perhaps said Google before, but buying Moto Mob knocks that out, so I guess some Far Eastern entity is most likely.

Wonder if this means that when my works-issue laptop gets replaced that I might get a Dell again?

Anyway, I'm sure their scanner division is closely related to their MFP division. Digital printing is big these days and HP would do better if they lowered the price of their MFPs and be more competitive in that market (Indigo is doing fine by the looks of it).

I've recently switched from Canon to HP MFP and has been quite impressed with it so far (employee discount - so it was VERY well priced). Only downside - like all modern HP gear - is that it won't print on optical media like my old Canon did (and did well!).

Not sure if this helps: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secular
Looking forward to crossy's take on this.

Yes, that's a weird use of the word - I've seen a couple of references for "secular" = "worldly", but this is the first time I've seen it used in a non-religious context. Leo's obviously got a better scriptwriter than Mark Hurd did.

(Disclaimer: although I work for HP, the opinions expressed above are my own)

[Scott B]

Not really! I think this may be another Inigo / Vizzini moment...

Having read through the full earnings transcript, in which the word was used liberally, I've come to the conclusion that he's using it to mean wide-ranging/fundamental/underlying. Secular seems to sit alongside terms like 'disruptive' and 'paradigm-shift' in this context.

And let's not forget he's a native German using US corporate-speak. We're lucky this was the only obscure use of language.

Also, regarding printers, check out my subsequent piece for some of the earnings call transcripts. Specifically: "The contemplated direction is an important component of our strategy to sharpen HP's focus on cloud, solutions and software, accessible to any type of device, while we continue to expand and leverage our strong technologies, including printing hardware, software and services."

[scaryjim]

Have to say one of the best things I picked up on my (now deceased) Android tablet was the free HP app to print pdfs and photos on my HP printer over the network. Worked seamlessly. If they're keeping the printer business and going for more software / services then more of that would be great