Compaq Pushes Forward With Strategy
HOUSTON, Jul 17, 2001 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Compaq Computer Corp., which
for months has been retooling itself as a more service-oriented company,
announced Tuesday a new initiative to package hardware and information
technology.
The program, which the Houston-based company calls "computing on demand," allows
Compaq to unite all its hardware offerings with its services unit.
"Customers want (information technology) to be delivered in new and more
flexible ways," said Peter Blackmore, executive vice president of sales and
services.
Observers have compared Compaq's move toward service to changes IBM made a
decade ago. Blackmore said the company would like to see the retooling effort
account for about one-third of total revenues, up from 21 percent last year.
"The timing is different. Back in the early 1990s when IBM clearly had a lot of
challenges, there was still massive growth in hardware," Blackmore said. "The
hardware model has changed."
Weak hardware sales and price wars have stymied the entire industry. Compaq
revealed last week its revenues would fall 7 percent short of predictions for
the second quarter and planned to lay off 8,500 during the year.
Shares of Compaq were up 56 cents to $15.96 in trading on the New York Stock
Exchange.
Copyright 2001 Associated Press, All rights reserved |
