"Why do you think the ligition will force HP and CPQ out of the desktop market?"
Because without shortages, neither is structured to compete with Dell. Too much management. If there are shortages, then their long term contracts work to their advantage. In a softer market, it is to their detriment. And even then, their layers of management increases their costs so much that they, at best, break even vs. Dell. Heck, they have to lay off thousands of employees just to pay for the bonus that Carly and Mike will get as a result of this merger...
Dell is only better because they have a flatter hierarchy and they let Intel carry a lot of their costs. It is very possible that a startup or hungry level 3 OEM can fill the vacuum. It would take funding in the range of $1 million or so to have shot, but it could be done. As I have been told, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. If the HPaq merger gets killed, then it is boom time for the pigs...
No, the company to look for is one that can live on an 15% or less margin. As much as it pains me, a company can prosper without doing their own engineering. It has become a manufacturing game. If you know someone or someones who can pony up the funds, I will be more than willing to take the jump into propelling them into the NP/Compaq replacement... |
