Submitted by Tech pioneer Hewlett Packard has had its ups and downs over the decades, but it’s currently on the upswing, even during these trying economic times. #5 probably hits closest for OSAlert readers: a renewed focus on innovation.
Tech pioneer Hewlett Packard has had its ups and downs over the decades, but it’s currently on the upswing, even during these trying economic times. #5 probably hits closest for OSAlert readers: a renewed focus on innovation.
I’d reckon most of their success is from the sale or cheap hardware. They may not be cheaper than the white-box OEMs, but are definitely cheaper than other brand names.
HP is the only PC maker I know that has a cheap tablet PC with multimedia features (like the TX1200 series). Neither Dell or Lenovo even comes close.
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I thought the most interesting part of the article was the comments. They basically say that HP’s service is horrible. We have some big itanium servers here (16 way boxes) and our sysadmins hate the HP support that we pay hundreds of thousands a year for. I keep wondering how people can stay with a company that treats you so badly (we’re currently looking to get out).
HP is one of the USA’s preferred defense contractors.
Given the fact that the DoD has virtually unlimited funds, I’d say that is high on the list.
I’m in HP federal. Trust me overall we are small to the rest of HP. In fact we matter so little that trying to support the federal business is harder than it should be because we don’t fit the US model of operating.
Also I am in Field support and I am disappointed to hear you guys are having problems with support. Phone is one thing but if you have an ASC with you Itaium gear then you shouldn’t have a support issue that can’t be resolved.
I’m surprised to hear other readers complain about HP support. I’ve had nothing but good experiences compared to other vendors. They overnight parts without quibbling, send onsite support, and don’t overcharge for replacement parts the way other vendors like Dell and Sun.
Even without support, I think their workstations and network gear is a great deal. I haven’t purchased any servers, but I’m considering it given the prices and features. They even certify some of the Proliant line for Windows, Linux, and Solaris.
one important reason HP is surviving today.. is they were the last ones into the PC market. They didnt make HP pc in the 80s and early 90s. It wasnt until the late 90s they started to enter the market.
HP was making personal computers in the 80s, they were CP/M and MS-DOS based. I was even selling Vectra PCs in the mid-nineties, and we also had Pavillion PCs around that time, though I wasn’t involved in the consumer/retail space.
However, they were an also-ran in terms of market share. It was the acquisition of Compaq that put them on the map, but they had their share of internal grief making that merger work, particularly since Compaq was still having issues with the Digital acquisition. I knew a lot of miserable people working there around that time…
Actually, HP was one of the first big makes to enter the personal computing bizness. They had motorola and intel based competitors to the IBM PC from the very begining.
And they Vectra PCs were pretty big in the high end and technical markets in the mid/late 80s.
I have to say that HP Blades are indeed impressive in their current edition. There are a few things I have with them that have room for improvements but on the whole impressive indeed. Their new Extreme Storage are a direct continuation of Blades and PolyServe (both very nice techs).
Building solid products which innovate are obviously paying off
1. Their business doesn’t centre completely around a Unix OS that they are fighting off competitive threats from.
2. They have embraced those competitive threats in many cases and made money off them i.e. x86 and Linux.
3. They still have an extensive printer business.
4. They have now got rid of Carly Fiorina and are wading back to sanity. You need leadership, and HP do seem to have some right now.
5. Their R and D is spent on things that it is feasible to make money from. If their R and D can’t make the difference then they find a way to accept it, and they concentrate their resources where it can make a difference. This is in sharp contrast to a company like Sun who are going to make ever more losses as they stand.
The five points in the article are pretty much spot on, and other companies would be wise to look at them in the current climate.
Edited 2008-11-21 22:52 UTC
They had Packard Bell PCs (granted it was early 90s) before buying Compaq. They were good sellers in the home market (and they werent cheap).
They make a fortune on printer ink because they outsell the other printer makers by making them very cheap.
Also, I’ve noticed they use both AMD and Intel. I dont know how much other makes use both, but Im sure it doesnt hurt.
Edited 2008-11-24 12:44 UTC