HP Korea Restructuring
Aside from the x86 server business, Hewlett-Packard (HP) Korea is not performing well in big data, security, or cloud services. Hence, the company is nervous at the HP CEO's upcoming visit to Korea.
According to a source at HP Korea on Nov. 6, Meg Whitman, president and CEO of HP, is scheduled to visit Korea on Nov. 13 in commemoration of the company's 30th anniversary. The industry is paying a lot of attention to her visit, since it is her first visit after leaving eBay.
From 2001 to 2005, Meg Whitman visited Korea once a year as eBay's CEO. This is her first visit as HP's CEO, and she will reportedly attend seminars and meetings with representatives of major customer companies and institutions.
HP comprises the largest proportion of the global x86 server market. However, the x86 server area is the only one that shows growth among HP's hardware businesses. The unix server unit has seen nearly a 10 percent decrease in quarterly sales, and the storage business is also lagging behind EMC and Hitachi.
On top of that, the PC business, which logged strong growth in Korea, also experienced an 11 percent decline in total laptop shipments and a 29 percent decrease in desktop shipments in the second quarter of this year. Industry analysts are saying that its big data solution business – which is in a very nascent stage – and the hardware-based cloud business have limits.
In the meantime, HP Korea finalized its early retirement program, which started last September. Initially, more than 100 people were expected to volunteer, but only 50 people have left the firm. The company finished revamping its organizational structure with the departure of Yoon Jong-ki, vice president of the enterprise service unit.