Reunited: HP Again Merges Printing, Personal Systems Groups
HP has been a hotbed of volatile corporate change and mishaps over the last 365 days. The latest upset sweeping the web is word that HP will merge its Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) back into its Personal Systems Group (PSG), ditching a top-level executive in the process. It seems that everything old is new again. Details follow …
The rumors of “sweeping reorganization” come courtesy of AllThingsDigital, which has spoken to “sources familiar with the matter.” The plan is to merge IPG with PSG because IPG, once a golden egg, has become somewhat rotten with a “sales [falling] by 7 percent … while the units earnings from operations fell by 32 percent.” (I’ll chock that up to the proliferation of tablets and green IT, both of which have eliminated the need to print regularly.) The top HP executive being ousted by this move is IPG VP Voymesh Joshi. Todd Bradley, executive VP for PSG, will head up the soon-to-be-combined group.
Those of you in the channel long enough know this this not unfamiliar territory for HP. Back in 2005, then-CEO Carly Fiorina combined PSG and IPG. Joshi, who had been executive VP of IPG, was tapped to lead the combined group. The decision, however was short-lived, with new CEO Mark Hurd reversing the move a mere six months later following her ouster.
But why the shakeup? AllThingsD’s sources claim it’s CEO Meg Whitman’s idea, as she looks to cut costs while simplifying corporate infrastructure. Realistically, there’s no reason why the two can’t be joined together, it may even be a good thing. Those same sources claim HP wants to reach out to consumers in a more “unified” way, making printers and computers a package solution already integrated. (I have a hunch this may have something to do with HP aligning itself for Windows 8.)
Additional details are scant right now, but we’ll be following the development closely. More importantly, these moves come at an interesting time, one where HP is focused more on the data center than the consumer. Be sure to check out HP’s recent SMB strategy along with Whitman’s focus on HP’s partner ecosystem.