HP CEO Meg Whitman on Wednesday moved to allay fears of enterprise technology buyers, ensure the company will be around for the long-haul, stick with the services business, develop groundbreaking hardware and invest in innovation.
In other words, Whitman had a tough to-do list and had to counter some FUD laid by Cisco CEO John Chambers on Tuesday. "I want to instill in you confidence that HP will be here for the long term and that we will lead," said Whitman.
The CIOs at Gartner Symposium have a lot invested in HP. HP's troubles become tech leader headaches.
And Whitman had a tough set-up. Before the keynote there were a bevy of questions from Gartner Symposium attendees via video. The questions revolved around a potential HP breakup, health of the PC business and whether it can compete. In other words, Whitman had one helluva sell job ahead.
Whitman said she had to figure out what HP did well and that's engineering and a commitment to quality products. "It's hard to kill founder DNA," she said. Overall, Whitman said HP is a solutions company that's broader than just hardware or software. "We invented that idea of converged infrastructure," she said.
She was asked about Chambers and his take that HP faces long odds. "In certain areas we compete and we aim to win," said Whitman, referring to networking. "Don't bet against us. I'd rather have my hand than John's hand right now. We are the No. 1 networking company in China."
That China dig is notable given Cisco and Huawei are duking it out.
Here are the key points from Whitman on HP's priorities and my take on whether she was convincing:
My take: HP does need a Moonshot so to speak. An ARM server could be disruptive. Overall, HP seems behind in the server race---especially when using the latest Intel processors.
My take: It will take a few years to believe in HP.
My take: This services rebuilding effort will take time. HP is No. 2 in services, but isn't high on the food chain. Customers and HP will have to renegotiate terms and that won't be fun.
My take: Whitman was convincing, but a payoff two years from now won't allay current concerns.
My take: Whitman was convincing and has good security assets. The story needs to be refined.
My take: Whitman sounds old school regarding the centralization and CIO riff. At least, she didn't run off with IBM's CMO pitch.
My take: HP can talk cloud, but it'll take time.
My take: That would be a non-answer.
My take: Cheeky non-answer.
My take: Whitman's long-term focus is nice to hear.
My take: There's also a strategy messaging issue outside the company.
We have a tremendous set of personal devices. We have to go from the workstation to desktops to laptops to the hybrid devices and ultimately if we do a smartphone we'll decide what OS we use. We won't have a smartphone in 2013, but will beyond that. If we are in the personal compute business the smartphone is the primary device in many parts of the world. The mobile move will require pacing and sequencing.
My take: Whitman is absolutely correct. It needs to be a mobile player.
My take: HP has a point. Ultimately, HP will be judged on its enterprise tablet sales.
My take: Whitman had to talk PC stability. After all, HP still has to sell PCs.
Bottom line: Whitman served up a good deal of detail and was very credible. What's unclear is whether she'll have the time to set HP up for decades to come.