When Hewlett-Packard revealed that it intends to spend the next year breaking itself into two distinct companies, there was not a lot of mention about mobile products. That shouldn’t be a surprise, but it does leave mHealth observers wondering what the tech stalwart has in mind.
What company officials did say is that a newly christened Hewlett Packard Enterprise will house software and services and networking technologies, as well as its big iron servers and storage, while the other entity, HP Inc., will consist of its PCs, notebooks, tablets and, of course printing systems.
Part of the rationale, according to HP CEO Meg Whitman, is to “more aggressively go after the opportunities created by a rapidly changing market,” by giving each half “the independence, focus, financial resources and flexibility they need to adapt quickly to market and customer dynamics.”
It’s safe to presume that a PC, notebook, tablet and printer-centric company looking to make itself more aggressive would ramp up its efforts in the mobile space — but a company spokesperson told mHealth News that it isn't offering more details at this time.
Operating as two companies may - or to be fair may not - mean that providers and payers wind up having to buy tablets and notebooks from HP Inc. but must have separate accounts, support contracts and relationships with HP Enterprise for networking equipment, servers and storage. No word yet about which entity will sell its health-centric products for care management, electronic health records, patient workflow and security software. The same can be said for the thin clients, servers and storage products targeted at payers and providers.
Based on what we do know, it appears that HP’s roster of displays, PCs, notebooks, mobile workstations, tablets and printers will reside in the domain of HP Inc.
To understand the rest, healthcare CIOs and their IT departments will just have to wait. Indeed, HP said it intends to complete the transaction at the end of its 2015 fiscal year.
“There will be a 12-month period where the specifics of the separation are detailed,” HP’s spokesperson explained.
Would having to buy different product types from two HPs discourage you? Or might it actually be beneficial? Comment below.
