Shannon Cross on services business
From Cross Says Dell, HP Shifting to Higher Margin Revenue · · Bloomberg Originals
“HP's services business, particularly EDS, had been underinvested and milked for profitability over the prior administration, leading to problems that HP is now addressing by reinvesting.”
On , Shannon Cross, Senior VP, Chief Strategy Officer & Investor Relations at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, spoke about services business during Cross Says Dell, HP Shifting to Higher Margin Revenue on Bloomberg Originals.
About Shannon Cross
In a September 2012 interview, Shannon Cross, then an analyst at Cross Research, discussed the earnings reports of Dell and Hewlett-Packard. Cross stated that both companies were shifting their revenue mix toward higher-margin areas, such as storage and services, moving away from the low-margin PC business. She noted that Dell was focusing its research and development on storage and other growth areas rather than PCs. Cross also commented on HP's services business, saying that the prior administration had underinvested in EDS, leading to problems that HP was addressing by reinvesting. Regarding HP's CEO Leo Apotheker, Cross said it was early to criticize him for not delivering consistent earnings, noting that he had hit earnings targets but that guidance had not improved, and that he inherited significant underinvestment on the services side. On tablets, Cross observed that Apple was the dominant player with about 70% market share, making it difficult for competitors to challenge its ecosystem. She suggested there was an opportunity for tablets in the corporate world over time, though PCs would remain a major part of the corporate environment.