HP's Strategic Refocus Leaves webOS in the Balance
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Published:
Week 34
August 2011 -
Image Source:
HP
News
On 18 August 2011, HP made a series of announcements about a "company transformation" designed to refocus its strategy and operations toward "higher-value, higher-margin growth categories". The announcements were made just before HP's fiscal third-quarter earnings release and investor call. Specific announcements related to HP's mobile products included:
- The company will look at strategic options for its Personal Systems Group (PSG). PSG is the world's largest PC supplier by unit volume and revenue. HP expects a transition period of 12 months to 18 months for the business.
- Operations for webOS devices will be discontinued, specifically the Pre, Pixi and Veer phones and the TouchPad tablet. On the earnings call, CEO Leo Apotheker indicated the webOS device business would cease operating in HP's fourth quarter.
- HP will explore "options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward."
HP also announced it plans to acquire Autonomy Corporation for $10.3 billion. Autonomy is a UK-based provider of enterprise information management software and business analytics.

