HP is pulling an IBM...but they can't pull it off.
So, it sounds like they're hiving off PCs and printers to give them an excuse to strangle the life out of the business and kill it. Good job, HP, following right along with IBM's playbook so far. Focus on high margin servers, software and "services." Because any company that makes any physical products anymore is a total chump that's undeserving of investment.
The problem with this IBM model is that HP's "services" division is the old EDS...and it's even worse than IBM's "services" division. Servers, with the exception of the Itanium write off they'll have to do in a few years, are still pretty healthy. But without the other divisions driving end user demand, the talent is likely to go elsewhere.
If it were me, I'd just take an axe to the horrible crapfest that is their consumer line of PCs, laptops and printers. That's what needs fixing -- tons and tons of different HP Pavilion models, each made for a particular retail chain, with almost no support. And the $49 printers designed to prop up the ink division -- not a good long term strategy. Everything consumer that HP has done isn't worth buying. Their high end laptops and PCs are good. (laptops' current design sucks, but they don't break in 89 days.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
