On Monday, 6 October, HP (Hewlett-Packard Company) announced its plan to split itself into two companies: one with a focus on its enterprise endeavors, and one with a focus on personal computing and printing. The enterprise entity, referred to as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, is slated to retain focus on HP's server, networking, storage, software, and cloud computing solutions, whereas HP Inc. is to be focused on the Printing and Personal Systems Group (corresponding to two parts of the market in which HP has seen fierce competition in recent years).
HP Enterprise receives the well-known Meg Whitman as President and CEO. (Whitman, if you recall, became CEO of HP in 2011, and has arguably been the face of the company since). The latter entity, referred to as HP Inc., sees leadership in the form of Dion Weisler, pulling the former HP Executive VP into the role of President and CEO.
According to the press release, this is merely another step in the company's 5-year turnaround plan. The split, expected to be complete by the end of 2015, is said to be both for the benefit of customers and for the benefit of shareholders. Whether the effort (and the overall turnaround plan) will provide any tangible benefit is yet to be seen, but it seems as if no major loss to consumers is to be expected from the split.
For more information on expected financial impacts of the split, the aspects of HP's portfolio being impacted by the change, and for more information in general, see the press release or view all material made available during the announcement.
Do you think the change will allow HP to regain the momentum it has lost in recent years? Or is the company --err, or are the companies stuck where they are in the marketplace, even with the changes in leadership?
