10 Things HP’s Management Shakeup Says About the Company
1. Leo Apotheker Wants More OversightAs part of HP’s management shakeup, the company said that more top-level managers would be answering to CEO Leo Apotheker. In fact, executive vice president for enterprise servers, storage, networking, and technology services, Dave Donatelli, will report to Apotheker, along with executive vice presidents of software and global sales, respectively, Bill Veghte and Jan Zadak. It seems that Apotheker wants more oversight of his top-level management.
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2. Things Aren’t Necessarily Going WellWhen things are going well at a company, there is rarely any change in top-level management. After all, how long has the same cast of characters at Apple been running things? HP’s decision to switch things up indicates that there might be troublesome times ahead, and it wants to react to that as quickly as possible.
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3. Software Is Even More ImportantWhen Leo Apotheker took over at HP, many believed that software would take center stage in his plans. After he took over, that was made clear. And now, with this latest management shakeup, the company is now decidedly more software-focused than ever before. Look for software to be integral to HP’s success or failure in the coming years.
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4. Computers Are Less ImportantWhen Mark Hurd was running HP, computers were integral to his company’s strategy. Now, PCs just aren’t as important any longer. Apotheker has proven once again that software, cloud services, and the enterprise mean more to the firm than computers.
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5. It’s Willing to ChangeThough some investors weren’t too pleased to see such a major shakeup at the top of HP, it’s a sign of one good thing: HP is willing to change things up. Too often, companies become crippled by their inability or unwillingness to change. But HP has proven that it’s different, and Apotheker will do what he must to make it work. Though investors don’t like to see major changes, they do like when CEOs are willing to make tough decisions. And Apotheker is making tough decisions.
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6. It Doesn’t Want to Be DellSeveral years ago, Dell was atop its game, and many wondered if any other PC vendor would be able to catch up. But as Dell’s business started going awry, the company didn’t respond in time. And now, it’s still trying to dig out from the mistakes it made years ago. HP, on the other hand, seemingly doesn’t want to be another Dell. And the company’s sweeping changes show that it wants to react before things get too bad.
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7. It’ll Look Much Different In A Few YearsWhen Leo Apotheker took over at HP, the company was a decidedly PC-focused company with some enterprise services that, depending on the solution, were doing well in some cases, and poorly in others. But in the next few years, HP will be a much different firm. Expect the company’s cloud and enterprise solutions to be much more important. And at the same time, expect software to play an integral role in its operation.
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8. The Cloud, The Cloud, The CloudThe cloud is becoming increasingly important across industry. And HP is doubling down in the cloud with the Internet-focused WebOS, but you can also expect the firm to deliver a host of cloud solutions to the enterprise to continue its charge in that marketplace. Apotheker said that the cloud would be important to HP’s operation, and his latest decisions have made that abundantly clear.
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9. More Changes Are AfootAfter announcing HP’s management changes, Apotheker insisted that HP will continue to make changes as it sees fit to ensure the company is on the right path to success. Looking ahead, expect HP to make several more strategic decisions that could have a profound impact on its current state.
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10. Mark Hurd’s Influence Has Been EliminatedWhen Mark Hurd left HP, some wondered how long his legacy at the company would last. Now, just months after Apotheker has taken over it’s clear that Hurd’s legacy has been eliminated. And HP investors, employees, and stakeholders are firmly aware that the company is under the leadership of a person that has a much different philosophy on running the organization. So long, Mark Hurd. There’s a new CEO running HP, and he has a much different strategy.