Thursday, June 2, 2011

Market Environment of HP Company , Dell Inc., IBM Corporation, Apple Inc., Oracle Corp


TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                                                                            Page

Introduction........................................................................................................................ 1

Major Competitors............................................................................................................ 3

General Environment........................................................................................................ 7
Demographics...................................................................................................................... 7
Economics............................................................................................................................ 7
Political / Legal.................................................................................................................. 10
Socio Cultural.................................................................................................................... 11
Technological..................................................................................................................... 12
Global................................................................................................................................ 13

Porter’s Five Force Analysis........................................................................................... 14
Threat of New Entrants..................................................................................................... 14
Bargaining Power of Supplier............................................................................................ 15
Bargaining Power of Buyer............................................................................................... 16
Threat of Substitution........................................................................................................ 16
Rivalry among Competition............................................................................................... 17

Competitive Environment............................................................................................... 18
Future Objectives............................................................................................................... 18
Current Strategy................................................................................................................ 19
Assumptions...................................................................................................................... 19
Capabilities........................................................................................................................ 20
Responses.......................................................................................................................... 21

Driving Forces.................................................................................................................. 22

Key Success Factors......................................................................................................... 27

Strategic Group Map....................................................................................................... 29

Dominant Economic Features......................................................................................... 31

Conclusion........................................................................................................................ 37

References ....................................................................................................................... 39



INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to analyze the PC industry in the global market.
Profits within this industry have been resilient, even though there have been thin profit margins on computer sales.  Profit margins rose incrementally from 2006-2009, and this is because of stable gross margins and productivity improvements due to consolidation.  In 2011 the industry’s average profit margin is expected to be 4% ( IBISWorld, 2011b).
The major competitors in this industry are: Hewlett Packard, International Business Machines, Ingram Data Corp, Dell Inc., Apple Incorporated and Tech Data Corporation.  Hewlett Packard is the world leading supplier of PCs and also consumer and printer hardware.  The industry is highly competitive.  The largest companies control 77% of the industry revenues (IBISWorld, 2011b).  Competition overseas has tightened profit margins and prices. The largest companies in the industry operate in several related industries so that they can diversify their sources of revenue.
The report will also analyze the industry’s competitors and their strategies in the global market.  This will be done by analyzing the external environment, which includes the general environment trends, such as demographic, economic, political/legal, sociocultural, technology and global. This report will also take an in-depth look at the Porter’s analysis, dominant economic features, driving forces, and key success factors.
One of the major issues in this industry is reducing carbon emissions and promoting products that can be reused and recycled. There are many dangerous chemicals from electronic products that the companies are trying to eliminate. These toxic substances are called cathode ray tube which contains lead.
The demand for computers, peripheral equipment and software products have been impacted due to the current economic activity.  This includes consumer spending and private sector investment.  In response to this impact, manufacturers are bypassing wholesalers and selling their products directly to the retailers, resellers or end users.




















MAJOR COMPETITORS
Market Share of Major Corporations in the Computer Manufacturing.
1.  HP Company – 27.3%
2.  Dell Inc. – 26.3%
3. IBM Corporation – 14.9%
4. Apple Inc. – 8.5% 
5.  Oracle Corp – 5% (IBISWorld, 2011h)

Hewlett Packard Co.
Hewlett-Packard is the lead competitor in the PC industry.  They offer massive product capabilities with seven different business segments (Enterprise storage and servers ESS, HP services HPS, HP software the personal system group PSG, imaging and printing group IPG, HP financial services HPFS and corporate investments). Currently HP is expanding consulting, outsourcing and technology service infrastructure, business process domains and applications. The 2008 acquisition of Electronic Data Systems (EDS) strengthened their capabilities in this segment which is divided into four main business units: applications services, infrastructure technology outsourcing, business process outsourcing and technology.  Hewlett- Packard not only appeals to large enterprises and government agencies but has strong brand recognition in private consumers as well.  In following consumer trends HP has released the first multi touch enabled tablet, HP Elite book 2740p in 2010.  This is anticipated to rival the iPad in 2011 (Datamonitor, 2010b). 
From 2007 to 2009, HP’s IT division has increased its size by more than 50%.  This increase can account for most of HP’s growth in revenues.  Another major source of revenue growth is from acquiring other companies.  HP purchased 3Com in 2009, and Palm in 2010.  Although these acquisitions have increased revenues, they have also tremendously increased debt.  Their long-term debt increased at a rate of 77.7% from 2006 to 2009.  This increase in debt has not taken a toll on the corporation since interest expense is still very low, at only 0.5% of their revenues.  These acquisitions were well worth it, when acquiring Palm, HP acquired their WebOS system which is similar to Apple’s operating system used on the iPad and iPhone (IBISWorld, 2011e).
Dell Inc.
Dell is the second largest company in the industry.  Dell offers a wide range of IT systems and services. They have developed a strategy to provide direct product delivery to large corporate, government agencies.  XPS, Alien ware and OptiPlex have all been specifically designed for the government and institutional segments.  A recent strategy deployed by Dell is to utilize indirect sales channels offering its product to large international retailers.  Dell also provides desirable products for small businesses and private consumers. In 2009 they offered their largest product launch of E-Series Commercial Latitude and Dell Precision Notebooks.  The selection of mobile PC’s offer a graduating degree of performance and have customizable applications suiting the elite professional, the student or basic personal user (Datamonitor, 2010c).  Dell was the first company to sell computers on-line directly to the consumers.  Dell’s revenues decrease 13.4% in 2010 because of the recession.  Dell has also acquired other corporations, and these acquisitions are expected to change their revenues by the end of 2011  (IBISWorld, 2011e)

IBM Corp.
IBM is also a global computer company.  This company has become increasingly more profitable over the last five years.  They are also one of the companies that is pioneering virtualization within the industries product line.  IBM sold its manufacturing segment.  It has taken the manufacturing budget and used those resources in the IT department to enhance their software and server systems (IBISWorld, 2011e).
Apple Inc.
Apple devices appeal to business professionals and tech savvy consumers. Apple has done a phenomenal job creating brand equity by having their own MAC operating systems and distinguishing software and applications specifically for Apple products. However, they have waivered allowing Micro Soft to produce an Apple version of Micro Soft Office. The market segment is based on private consumers to small-medium businesses primarily in education and arts. Apple has been successful at designing smart mobile devices that have a wide range of personal and business applications appealing to elite professionals and popular culture alike (Datamonitor, 2010a). 
Oracle Corp.
Oracle focuses on software publishing.  Oracle only became a major competitor in August of 2009 when they bought Sun Microsystems.  Since this company focuses mostly on software, they are not a good comparison to others in the industry (IBISWorld, 2011e).

Acer.
Acer is a Taiwanese company which is gaining strength in the PC market and proving to be financially strong in 2009-2014 projections. This is symbolized by the asset to debt ratio which increased from 35% in 2006 and to 70% by 2009. Acer’s acquisition of Gateway strengthened their consumer value in PC’s; majority of which are desktop computers. Much like the rest of the industry trends they too indicate mobile PC’s are their future. The company focuses its resources on research and design, manufacture and distribution of computers, and servers and storage products under the brand Altos /Acer (Datamonitor, 2010c). 










































GENERAL ENVIRONMENT

demographic, economic, political/legal, socio cultural, technological and global
Demographics
            Hewlett- Packard sells their products in six continents around the globe.  Therefore, they have a diverse population of customers.  However, they cater mostly to professionals.  They focus, especially in other countries on small businesses, and professionals, such as, doctors that need multiple computers (Hewlett-Packard, 2010b).  This is an important segment for all companies in the computer industry to focus on because forty percent of sales in the industry are derived from corporations (IBISWorld, 2011b).
               There has also been an increase in Woman buying computers and software.  Specifically, there has been a major increase in woman who own small businesses as a customer base within the industry.  Over the past few years, HP has focused on this increasing demographic area to keep themselves in the selling frontline of this newly emerging demographic group.  HP has many women in their workforce and many are also in management positions (Workforce Management, 2011).  Forty percent of HP’s top-level management is women.  The company is utilizing these employees for their insight into their growing customer base in this demographic area, women (Workforce Management, 2004).
Economic
               Current US Economy.
Table 1: Unemployment
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2001
4.2
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.3
4.5
4.6
4.9
5.0
5.3
5.5
5.7
2002
5.7
5.7
5.7
5.9
5.8
5.8
5.8
5.7
5.7
5.7
5.9
6.0
2003
5.8
5.9
5.9
6.0
6.1
6.3
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.0
5.8
5.7
2004
5.7
5.6
5.8
5.6
5.6
5.6
5.5
5.4
5.4
5.5
5.4
5.4
2005
5.3
5.4
5.2
5.2
5.1
5.0
5.0
4.9
5.0
5.0
5.0
4.9
2006
4.7
4.8
4.7
4.7
4.6
4.6
4.7
4.7
4.5
4.4
4.5
4.4
2007
4.6
4.5
4.4
4.5
4.4
4.6
4.7
4.6
4.7
4.7
4.7
5.0
2008
5.0
4.8
5.1
4.9
5.4
5.6
5.8
6.1
6.2
6.6
6.8
7.3
2009
7.8
8.2
8.6
8.9
9.4
9.5
9.5
9.7
9.8
10.1
9.9
9.9
2010
9.7
9.7
9.7
9.8
9.6
9.5
9.5
9.6
9.6
9.7
9.8
9.4
2011
9.0
8.9










                                                                                           (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2011)
               From 2001 to 2008 the unemployment rate fluctuated between 4 and 6 %.  This began to dramatically increase during 2008.  In October of 2009 the unemployment rate reached an incredible high of 10.1.  From this point in 2009, the unemployment rate has been fluctuating, but is trending downward. 
Talbe 2:  Average Hourly Earnings
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2008
21.25
21.30
21.42
21.44
21.52
21.62
21.66
21.73
21.80
21.82
21.92
21.99
2009
22.01
22.07
22.08
22.13
22.14
22.18
22.21
22.26
22.31
22.34
22.37
22.39
2010
22.44
22.48
22.48
22.52
22.57
22.57
22.61
22.67
22.70
22.77
22.76
22.77
2011
22.86(P)
22.87(P)










                                                                                            (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2011)
               Average hourly earnings of all employees decreased from 2008 to 2009.  However, since January of 2009, the average hourly earnings in the US has increased or stayed the same all but one month in the last two years.  From 2009 to 2010, hourly earnings increased by $0.43; the current year, 2011, it has increased another $0.42.  This trend proves a positive growth in hourly earnings (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2011)
Market and Demand
The demand determinants in this industry include the following: selling prices; economic activity, including capital expenditure and disposable household income; product advancements and new applications; specific events; replacement demand; and substitute products.
The domestic computer and peripheral demand has been decreasing in the last 5 years on an average of 3.2% annually (IBISWorld, 2010c).  (See Table 3) This trend is related to the economic downturn, oversaturation of the market, and declining prices for many IT products. However, the domestic demand for computer and peripheral equipment is forecast to grow at an average annualized rate of 1.9% in the five years through 2015 and the global industry is forecast to grow in the five years through 2015, at an average rate of 6.2% annually (IBISWorld, 2010a). Industry activity will be promoted by a recovery in the world economy, rapidly growing demand for information technology in emerging markets of the world, growth in digital information and content, miniaturization and portability of certain products (IBISWorld, 2010c).
Table 3: Industry Data

Revenue ($m)
Industry Value Added ($m)
Establish­ments
Enterprises
Employment
Exports ($m)
Imports ($m)
Wages ($m)
Domestic Demand ($m)
U.S. PCShipments (Mil)
2001
109,688.5
41,562.6
1,916
1,817
193,110
58,097.1
73,139.7
11,324.7
124,731.1
N/A
2002
89,745.5
41,842
1,568
1,477
151,073
46,456.3
75,872.5
10,070.6
119,161.7
48
2003
82,219.3
36,079.1
1,562
1,472
142,920
47,191.9
76,106.3
11,226
111,133.7
53.8
2004
73,234
36,800.7
1,501
1,421
100,784
49,098.4
85,538.5
7,148.9
109,674.1
58.3
2005
72,812.1
38,087.5
1,371
1,308
104,803
50,786.6
87,580.9
7,204.3
109,606.4
63.9
2006
73,032.1
37,910.1
1,323
1,262
96,140
51,445.3
91,042.7
6,295.5
112,629.5
64.4
2007
67,149
34,245.4
1,257
1,199
89,410
47,877.6
91,668.7
5,854.8
110,940.1
71.5
2008
62,732.4
31,542.5
1,194
1,139
83,151
46,504.5
88,610.4
5,444.9
104,838.3
76.5
2009
56,946.3
27,760.3
1,134
1,082
75,668
42,784.2
80,192.5
4,954.9
94,354.6
74.2
2010
55,958.8
27,134.6
1,100
1,050
73,398
43,212
80,192.5
4,864
92,939.3
69.8
2011
55,843.9
27,062.1
1,067
1,018
71,930
43,644.1
82,598.2
4,849.2
94,798
N/A
2012
55,759.3
27,008.9
1,035
988
70,491
44,080.5
85,489.2
4,837
97,168
N/A
2013
55,578.8
26,895.2
1,004
958
69,081
44,521.3
88,053.8
4,816.5
99,111.3
N/A
2014
55,309.4
26,725.7
974
929
67,700
44,966.5
90,255.2
4,788.3
100,598.1
N/A
2015
55,011.6
26,538.7
945
901
66,346
45,418.2
92,511.6
4,757.7
102,105
N/A
Sector Rank
18/196
13/196
70/196
64/194
46/196
4/179
3/179
33/194
10/179
N/A
Economy Rank
128/693
92/693
512/691
474/679
342/693
6/236
5/232
225/685
16/231
N/A











(IBISWorld, 2010a)
Prices
Prices for computer equipment are expected to continue to fall as a result of the following trends: innovations in microchip technology and manufacturing processes, commoditization of products, changes in distribution arrangements (internet sales) and productivity gains from developing economies of scale and outsourcing.  Investment in advertising and websites will increase direct sales through e-commerce, which will help raise profit margins and reduce inventory levels (IBISWorld, 2011b).

Political / Legal
Regulatory Environment
The PC industry in the United States is subject to regulation by various federal and state governmental agencies.  Such regulation includes the radio frequency emission regulatory activities of the Federal Communications Commission, the anti-trust regulatory activities of the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, the import/export regulatory activities of the Department of Commerce, and the product safety regulatory activities of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (IBISWorld, 2010c).
The two agencies that regulate domestic and global public policy are:
·         The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) provides global public policy, business networking, and national leadership to promote growth of the IT industry. ITAA consists of more than 500 corporate members throughout the country and a global network of 41 countries' IT associations.
·         The Electronic Industries Alliance is a national trade organization that includes US manufacturers. The Alliance is a partnership of electronic and high tech associations and companies whose mission is promoting the market development and competitiveness of the US high-tech industry through domestic and international policy efforts (IBISWorld, 2010c).
Taxation
The industry is characterized by a medium level of tax burden.  There are no significant industry-specific income tax provisions.  The industry may be driven by the following tax provisions: accelerated equipment depreciation write-offs, research and development tax credits, and net operating loss carry-back.
The Digital Access to Technology Act (DATA) allows employers to give computers and internet access to employees without any tax consequences.
Some States have enacted sales tax holidays for computer products which resulted in an increase of sales (IBISWorld, 2011b).
Socio-Cultural
Societal trends are constantly changing in this industry.  People always want the newest product.  Desktops were the main seller in the computer industry; however, the majority of computer equipment sold last year was laptops at 22 percent of computer and equipment sales.  Now ipads and other even smaller computer type systems are available.  They are smaller, easier to use, and easier to carry.  They are becoming more and more popular and they may be the next societal trend within the industry (IBISWorld, 2011b).
Lately, there has also been a great deal of hype about going green.  Many companies in the industry have been trying to become more environmentally friendly.  For example, Dell offers to pick up old equipment to be recycled. 
Hp along with three other firms established the European Recycling Platform (ERP) in 2002. This project sets standards for recycling contracts in other counties and even audits the companies to ensure that they are complying with recycling rules.
HP has also led global environment with its Energy-saving PC.  The HP rp5700 Desktop PC can save up to 80 percent of the energy that the computer before it had used. It also has the longest useful life of any HP business PC and it is easier to recycle. In addition, the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool gave the HP rp5700 a gold rating.  It was also the first product meet the requirements to receive a gold rating.  HP is also leading the environment portfolio in the technology industry.
Up to half of the total energy used in laptop computers is merely to keep cool. In 2007, HP launched a new product to lower this use of energy, called Dynamic Smart Cooling (DSC) service.  DSC can measure heat produced by servers. It constantly adjusts the cooling response, and can reduce energy consumption in the cooling portion of a computer by up to 40 percent.  This can reduce energy by 480 tons of carbon dioxide in a year (Hewlett-Packard, 2010a).
Researchers at HP labs around the globe are also building an internal system within the Earth that will monitor our Environment.  This will help people react more quickly to the environment, such as, natural disasters, manufacturing line failures, hazardous road conditions, and gas leaks (Hewlett-Packard, 2010b).  These signs of cultural awareness within and outside their industry will score HP socially conscious points with their customers and help the environment at the same time.
Technological
            There is a great deal of development in technologies within this industry.   Products are becoming more innovative and are constantly changing.  Companies within this industry need to stay current, and keep up with these changes.  It is also important that staff and sales personnel are constantly trained in the new products and technology that goes along with this evolving industry. 
It is also important for this industry to have a good inventory system.  Products are constantly changing and employees need to be able to easily track and keep track of these products.  Many companies in the industry are moving toward on-line systems for inventory.  These companies are also using the internet to create a large portion of sales to customers (IBISWorld, 2011b).
Global
            Globalization within the computer industry is low but this segment is beginning to increase.  Going global has increased mainly in the wholesaling and distributions sector.  This gives companies a change to sell in different markets and access to resellers.  Ingram Micro and Tech Data have been doing very well with the global sector, generating 59 and 60% of their sales outside of North America in 2008. 
There have also been takeovers of U.S. companies that have increased manufacturing and offices in other countries.  For example, IBM sold its personal computer business in 2005 to a company in China, Lenovo Group.  However, Levano has now based its headquarters in New York.  Also, Acer, a company from Taiwan bought Gateway in 2007.  This made Acer the third largest vendor in the world in the PC market.
            In addition, within this industry, imports and exports are rather high.  The majority of this, 61 % of imports/exports is importing goods from China (IBISWorld, 2011b). 
HP is a worldwide company.  Their products are sold over six continents and in 170 different countries.  One out of every three computers shipped worldwide is from HP (Hewlett-Packard, 2010b). 

 



 

PORTER’S FIVE FORCE ANALYSIS


Competitive Forces
Magnitude of Force
Conclusion
Threat of new entrants
Low
May increase profit potential of the industry
Bargaining power of suppliers
Moderate
Some supplier’s power may increase while others decrease profit potential, depending on the product (neutral)
Bargaining power of buyers
Moderately high
May decrease profit potential of the industry
Threat of Substitutes
Low
Will increase profit potential of the industry
Rivalry among competition
High
Will decrease profit potential of the industry
Overall conclusions
There are a mix of high and low competitive forces.  This leaves the industry rather neutral to changes in profit. 
              
               Major Players:
Market Share of Major Corporations in the PC industry.
1. Dell Inc. – 7.5%
2. HP Company – 6%
3. Ingram Micro Inc.  – 4%
3. IBM Corporation – 3%
4. Tech Data Corporation – 3%  (IBISWorld, 2011b)
Threat of New Entrants
It is very hard for a new company to enter into the computer industry due to extensive capital outlay for implementation of new technologies in the production process; investment in R&D to develop differentiating technological competencies; obtaining economies of scale to offset low retail prices and low profit margins; and brand recognition (IBISWorld, 2010c). The environment within the industry is very volatile with rapidly changing technological advances, therefore, the product life cycle is very short and inventory becomes obsolete very fast. Companies must master their supply and distribution chains to deliver the product to consumers on a timely basis.
Bargaining Power of Supplier
Microsoft is the most dominant suppliers in the PC industry.  Intel’s microprocessor chips and Microsoft operating systems are used in the majority of computers.  There are substitutes for these segments, but they do not have the same quality and brand recognition with computer customers.  There are also patents on software that make it hard to find a good substitute for suppliers.  This gives these two companies substantial power as suppliers.  HP has a large number of famous brand suppliers for components such as, hardware, keyboards, and processors.  Using the bigger brands that do not have much competition leaves the bargaining power of the suppliers high.
However, competition in the supplier’s industry is increasing. Their products become better substitutes for parts currently being used.  Supplier power will slowly decrease as our supplier’s competition increases (IBISWorld, 2011a).
The plastics industry also sells many products to the computer industry.  There are no major players within this industry.  Their competition is based on price so larger corporations, such as, HP can have an advantage in bargaining power over plastic for parts.  Bargaining power of the supplier is low in this case (IBISWorld, 2010b).  Since there are some components to the computer industry where suppliers have high power and other components where suppliers have low bargaining power, this force would be considered moderate.
Bargaining Power of Buyer
There are many different computers and styles to choose from.  There are desktops, laptops, and notebooks.  There are many different technological advances to choose from as well.  For example, HP came out with a touch screen computer last year.  Technology becomes obsolete quickly, as there are new models coming out often.  Since there are many choices for the buyers, this has been slowly driving down prices.  This leaves the bargaining power of the buyer rather high.  Having high quality like HP lowers the bargaining power a little, but there are too many close substitutes within the industry for this to substantially influence the bargaining power.
Threat of Substitution
Phones are becoming the new trend.  Instead of carrying about laptops, business professionals carry their blackberry, and students have their iphones.  Currently, phones are becoming more and more popular for the internet, e-mail, and social media.  This has not yet placed a constraint on the sale of laptops and notebooks.  This may cause a bigger threat in the future to this industry.  As far as Hp, the company focuses more on professionals and businesses which still need computers to run. 
Also, Hp has already started developing alternate means their technology. They have six labs around the world working on different technological advances, some of which are in completely different industries.  Hp is known to stay on top of technology; they are constantly improving their products and coming up with new products.  This will help the company better conform and enter a new technological market as the computer industry is evolved.   Since these new trends have yet to impact sales, the threat of substitution is still low.


Rivalry among Competition
The top four industry players are expected to account for 43.0% of industry revenue in 2010. It is very common for this industry to consolidate within: mergers, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures and other types of business structures. 
Competition in this industry is very intense. Companies are struggling to increase their market shares and profit margins by different means: price cuts, economies of scale, strategic business partnerships, etc. This fierce competition creates oppressive circumstances to become/stay the best player in the industry.
Of the many reasons for intense rivalry, price is the biggest factor this year.  Companies are primarily cutting costs through distribution.  They are now selling to the end user over the internet and phone to cut their costs, and cut prices for their customers (IBISWorld, 2011b). 














COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
Future Objectives
An industry profile described by Data Monitor (2009) reports generated revenue for the PC market at 150.9 billion dollars (2009). This global industry experienced some decline with the economic crisis in 2008-2009 but is anticipated to regain strength and growth in future projections. This growth is anticipated to expand revenue to 163.8 billion by 2014. The Americas lead this global market segment holding 42.3% of market share in 2009. The Asia-Pacific market experienced a 10.1%decline in 2009; however the forecast for 2014 is projected to grow 32.9%, suggesting that companies such as Acer may have an increased presence in the upcoming years.   The future emphasis of the PC market is concentrated on the mobile PC’s which represented 54.3% of the markets entire volume in 2009. Mobile PC’s are defined by laptops, netbooks and tablet PC’s  (Datamonitor, 2010d). 
 Apple led the market in 2009 with the introduction of the iPad. The iPad sold three million units within the first three months of its release.  Apple has made an indelible mark on the industry and has positioned itself as a fore runner for personal computers, mobile communication devices and portable digital music and video players (Datamonitor, 2010a).  Other key players in this industry are represented by Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Dell and Lenovo. These companies represent a wide range of product ranging from PC desktops, laptops, notebooks, printers, LCD monitors, corporate and government work stations, storage and data systems, financial consulting and support services.  It is evident by consumer demand (15% growth in 2008) that the mobile PC market, in conjunction with the smart phone movement   (which grew 19% in 2009) is shifting this industries focus away from the desk top computer and towards devices that are easily transported, versatile and have efficient battery life (Datamonitor, 2010d). 
Current Strategy
The global PC market has a wide range of product differentiation. This can be categorized by desk tops and mobile PC’s, printers, servers, technical support services, business consulting and much more.  PC consumers have moderate buyer power due to the ability to utilize a wide range of software options that do not require a new skill set to operate. The PC market, with the exclusion of apple, has software and processing capabilities that are not distinct and allow consumers to pick and choose which product they prefer. Third party manufacturing of these products increases consumers buying power.  Due to this market characteristic, companies are forced to define themselves by creating brand equity and consumer loyalty (Datamonitor, 2010d). 
Assumptions
Emerging substitutes in the PC market have increased significantly with the progression of technology. This threat is led by the development of smartphones. For well diversified companies such as HP, Acer and Dell this risk has been tempered by their ability to provide a wide range of products to small business clients and large enterprises. Smartphones do not have the reliability or the storage and memory capabilities that would allow for them to replace the need for Personal Computers (Datamonitor, 2010b).  Additionally, it has been assumed that diversified companies will maintain increased revenue through a cadre of peripheral products and specialized services.
In addition to smart phones, competitors have a watchful eye on advanced game consoles such as the Play Station and Xbox. These consoles now give gamers the option of browsing the internet, live chat and most recently the collaborative efforts of Netflix (Datamonitor, 2010a).  This segment of emerging products can be seen as a threat to the market of desk top PC’s and appeal younger consumers entering the market.  The computer industry’s pace is swift, companies must be acutely aware of the competition and emerging trends. Diversification of product offerings can allow companies an opportunity to compete for dominance and innovation. Mobility and versatility are the driving forces in the PC market today.
Capabilities
Hewlett-Packard has broad capabilities for deployment of resources as they are the global leader in technology products, software, solutions and services. They have the resources to expand their service segment indicated by their acquisition of Electronic Data Systems in 2008 (Datamonitor, 2010b).  Additionally the company continues to develop a desirable options in the mobile PC arena with the multi touch enabled tablet, HP Elite book 2740p making its debut this year.
The Asia Pacific segment continues to expand with Acer taking second place in the industries competitive landscape. In 2009 the Asia Pacific segment experienced a compound annual growth rate of 5.9%. The projected revenue is to increase from 40.7 billion in 2009 to a projected 54.1 billion for 2014. This indicates a strong ability for companies such as Acer to deploy significant resources for research and design and manufacture and distribution of PC’s (Datamonitor, 2010c).
Apple has demonstrated the ability to deploy resources and set market trends within the mobile PC and smart phone market. Additionally they have created strong brand recognition in the art, entertainment and music market (Datamonitor, 2010a).
Dell products continue to utilize strong resources to cater to customization of products for corporate enterprise and personal computer peripheral product expansion (Datamonitor, 2010c).
The deployment of resources in this industry is significant across the entire competitive landscape further illustrating the fierce rivalry of company’s quest to continue to increase product performance and capability.
Responses
Mobile PC’s are projected to dominate the PC market in 2009-2014 forecasts.  Current strategies of all leading competitors focus on creating a desirable alternative to the iPad.  HP debuting with multi touch enabled tablet, HP Elite book 2740p and Dell launching the E-Series Commercial Latitude and Dell Precision Notebooks. Acer emerged as the second largest player, behind Hewlett-Packard in 2009. This company displays strong economic growth in industry forecasts and should be watched closely by their rivals.  This thriving global industry is highlighted by its rapidly evolving products and services. This industry trend is indicative of all IT technology development. All competitors show strong market representation creating a climate of innovation and customization of products and services delivery tactics.




DRIVING FORCES
Increasing globalization
Competition in this industry has shifted from national focus to global focus. The industry is highly affected by globalization. In this industry the largest companies have now moved their manufacturing facilities from United States to low wage countries. This enables the manufactures to offer low prices on their products in order to compete globally. And this is due to low labor cost. International competition also lowers computer prices due to labor cost. Computer imports represent 46.5% of domestic demand and as such, it can be a greater risk for local firms competing with foreign companies (IBISWorld, 2010d)
There is also an increase in globalization in the wholesaler distributing segment. In 2004 Ingram Micro acquired one of the largest technology distributers in the Asia-Pacific region. This acquisition doubled Ingram Micro’s Asia Pacific revenue. Taiwan’s based Acer acquired Gateway in 2007. The acquisition placed Acer as second in the US retail PC market.IBM sold off its business oriented computer manufacturing division to China based Lenovo in 2005. International competition and globalization in this industry boosts high computer sales due to the strong downward pressure on computer prices.
Technological change and manufacturing process innovation
 In this industry the level of technological change is high. Chip manufacturers such as Intel, AMD and Nvidia release new components every six months on average (IBISWorld, 2010d).  The retail value of these components depreciates very quickly because of the short cycle of the product.  As such, the manufacturers keep the inventory lean and plan for rapid inventory turnover.  This makes it possible to produce new and better components at low cost. In turn, this is boosting computer manufacturers’ performance. Because of technological change and advancements consumers have embraced computers and enhancements in entertainment and communication they provide. Businesses have also been more enthusiastic about the technological change in computers and software which they use to improve productivity and design new products.
Product Innovation
Industry conditions and the competitive landscape is always about rivals competing amongst each other to introduce the first new product. For example Hewlett Packard’s use of WebOS, an in house developed tablet computer known as the HP slate is intended to compete with Apple’s iPad. Introduction of successful products strengthens companies such as Hewlett Packard, Apple and many others. HP’s tablet computer was a major attraction at the 2011 consumer electronics show.
Marketing Innovation
Great marketing innovation is what drives product sales. For example the iPad was launch in 2010 and sold three million units in just eighty days (Apple, 2010). And it was because of good marketing strategy.  This has forced rival firms to revise their marketing strategy.
Entry or Exist of major firms
In United States, is unattractive to manufacture computers due to falling prices and globalization. All the major firms have their manufacturing facilities in Asia. Computer manufactures have existed in this industry in droves, with the number of firms falling at a 2.0% annual rate over the last five years, totaling 412 firms in 2011 (IBISWorld, 2011e). IBM sold its PC division to China based Lenovo in 2005 due to fierce competition.
Regulatory Influences and government policy changes
In this industry they face minimal regulatory intervention in practice. And as such several regulatory bodies have nominal oversight over industry activities. The computer manufacturing companies do not receive consistent support from United States government agencies. On a rare occasion they will receive support from the state and local government offering them tax incentives to locate their manufacturing facilities to their jurisdiction. On the other hand, China and many other countries are inviting these companies with open arms and deferring their taxes. They are opening up their domestic market to foreign participation (IBISWorld, 2011d).
Reduction in uncertainty and business risk
This industry is already established, as such issues as potential market size in not a problem. Staying in business is important, and that is improving on your technological innovations, introducing new or enhanced automated systems to reduce cost including automated inventory control, electronic ordering and information delivery systems.
The overall risk in this industry is medium. In this industry there is the structural risk, growth risk and sensitivity risk. The structural risk level is high and as such barriers to entry is medium and is because of initial cost associated with finding skilled employees. Also there is fierce competition on price, product range and level of service. Growth risk level is medium. This industry will grow by 4% over 2011 (IBISWorld, 2011b). Sensitivity risk level is at medium low in 2010. The decrease in computer prices will help the industry boosts its computer sales. Because the overall risk level is medium, companies in this industry are aggressive pursuing full seal multi country competitive strategies. Below is a graph and table for risk rating analysis.
                                                                                                               Source: (IbisWorld, 2011b)
Industry Risk Score
(Risk score is based on a scale of 1 to 9. 1 is the lowest risk and 9 is the highest.)
Structural Risk(Industry Structure)
6.37
Growth Risk
5.19
External Sensitivity Risk
4.42
Overall Industry Risk
5.10



     
 
                                                                                                             Source : (IbisWorld, 2011b )                                                                                                                  
The structural risk: This score is based on barriers to entry, competition, industry exports and imports, level of assistance and life cycle stage.
Growth Risk: Is based on recent growth from 2008-2010 and forecast growth is from 2010 to 2011(IBISWorld, 2011b).
External Sensitivity Risk: Is based on Private investment in computers and software, Private fixed Investments in software, Price of computers and peripheral equipment and Per capita disposable income.













KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
Ability to quickly adopt new technology
In this industry, the company that can incorporate new technology from their chip suppliers will be ahead of the competition. Adoption of new technology in this industry is frequent and new products almost always incorporate new technology advances. Because of the competitive market structure in the industry there is an increase in the rates at which companies adopt new technological innovations. Consumers benefited from these innovations by purchasing high quality computers sooner.
Effective advertising and branding
Because of the technical similarities of most computers, advertising and branding is very important. Due to effective advertising Apple sold three million units of its iPad in eighty days when the company first launched it. Hewlett Packard’s aggressive branding and advertising of its WebOS, touchpad is on the right path to make its mark in the tablet industry.
Effective Cost Control 
Due to fierce price competition in the industry, computer manufacturers have implemented cost effective controls. Failure to do so will lead to reduce market share.  In 2007, the recession had an effect on the industry’s cost structure.  Due to slow consumer spending habits, computer manufacturers moved their production to less costly overseas factories which cut down on cost. Consumers on the other hand benefitted because of the falling prices on computers.
Talented Workforce
It is important for a company to have talented workforce due to the competitive nature of the industry. There is constantly technological innovation as such a company without talented workforce will be left behind, resulting in shutting down its business. Superior talented employees are the ones behind the success of a company.  
Product Innovation Capabilities
It is important in this industry to be ahead of your rival in terms of product innovation. For example a decade ago Hewlett Packard was the company to beat. In 2010, Apple invented the iPad and it became the company to beat. In 2011 Hewlett Packard is about to launch the HP touchpad to compete with Apple’s iPad. And so to stay abreast of the competition you have to race to be the first to market your new product.
Strong direct sales capabilities via the internet and /or having company owned retail outlets
In this industry companies sell their products directly through their website and also to the computer retailers. A company like Apple has its own retail store which makes it more convenient for consumers to go into the store and buy Apple products at the same place.

                                                               






STRATEGIC GROUP MAP
Strategic Group Map of HP with major brand competitors (Textbook, p. 88)
The strategic group map of Hewlett-Packard Company reveals that there are variables within the industry such as, product line, reputation and prices of products of HP and its major competitors in the market.
The product line selected here is based on, personal computers, image and printing services / devices, storage and servers applications / devices, networking devices and accessories.
Product line is measured in comparison to reputation and price for respective companies in the computer and peripheral and software industry.  For instance, Sony Corporation has very strong market reputation and also leading in price in their product line (Sony, 2011) compared to HP and other market competitors. Apple Inc. is very strong in market reputation and high in price but with lower product range (Apple, 2011). Whereas, HP’s major competitors are IBM and Dell who are not only competing with HP on product line but are also strong competition for pricing in the USA and overseas. HP emerged in the market with a very strong product line, which had a well known infrastructure and the best server system provider.  For instance, HP’s Blade system server system topped its competitor IBM and Dell (Venezia, 2010). Xerox Corporation is one of HP’s major competitors in the image and printing sector where as ASUSTek competes in the PC industry providing high-end entertaining PCs / notebooks (Asus, 2011).
 Thus, the strategic group map of HP and its major competitor shows HP’s strong position with its product line as well as a strong position in price and reputation over various competitor products.













DOMINANT ECONOMIC FEATURES
Sr.
Economic Feature
Questions
1
Market size and growth rate
·     How big the company is?
·     What is the growth rate of the company?
2
Scope of Competitive Rivalry
·     Does the company face competition over geographical region by local or international rivals?
3
Number of buyers
·     Is market demand fragmented among many buyers?
·     Do buyers have bargaining power?
4
Degree of product differentiation
·     Are the products of rivals becoming more differentiated or less differentiated?
·     Are the products of rival becoming more similar and causing increase in price competition?
5
Product innovation and technology change
·     Is the industry characterized by rapid product innovation and short product life cycle?
·     How important is R&D and product innovation?
·     Are there opportunities to overtake key rivals by being first-to-market with next generation products?
·     What role does advance technology play in the Industry?
·     Are ongoing upgrades of facilities / equipment essential because of rapidly advancing production process technologies?
6
Demand – supply condition
·     Is a surplus of capacity pushing prices and profit margins down?
7
Vertical Integration
·     Do most competitors operate in only one stage of the industry or do some operates in multiple stages?
8
Economies of Scale
·     Is the industry characterized by economies of scale in purchasing, manufacturing, advertizing, shipping or other activities?
9
Learning / Experience curve effects
·     Are certain industry activities characterized by strong learning and experience effects?
·     Does company experienced any economical advantage due to learning / experience curve?
                                                                                                           
     The dominant economic features of the company measure or identify factors like, market size, growth rate, the number of buyers and their bargaining power, upcoming new product lines, need of change in technology, demand and supply position of the company and more.
The dominant economic features of Hewlett-Packard Company are:

Market size and growth rate
HP operates in 170 countries with approximately 324,600 employees worldwide (hp, 2011). HP operates divisions like services, Enterprise Storage and Servers (ESS), HP software, the Personal System Group (PSG), the Imaging and Printing Group (IPG), HP Financial Services (HPFS), and corporate investments (hp annual report, 2010). The IT giant (Information Technology) conglomerate reported 11 % growth in Americas, 7% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 16% in Asia Pacific and Japan (Apotheker, 2010). The innovations in IT industry keep improving.  Therefore, product life cycle is very short.
HP developed product life cycle management program thorough one can calculate the requirement of product, time of replacement and service etc. This phenomenon called as product lifecycle user simulation (PLUS) which includes user, managerial to technical team and helps users to identifying issues and helps to reach solution.
Scope of Competitive Rivalry
HP operates worldwide and faces competition mainly basis on technology, price, performance, quality, reliability, brand, reputation, range of products and services, customer training, security and availability of application software and internet infrastructure offerings (hp annual report, 2010).  Rivals vary in every sector of business within HP’s corporation.  For instance, in Enterprise storage and Servers, IBM, EMC Corporation and NetApp are rivals of HP.  In global service sector, IBM Global Services, Japan based Fujitsu Ltd., India based WIPRO Ltd., Infosys Technologies Ltd., and TATA Consultancy Services Ltd. are major competitors, on software side, IBM, Symantec Corporation, BMC software and more are major competitors of HP.  In the year 2010, at the end of June, Dell took over HP in personal computing segment (PCs) in Indian market and also Dell replaced HP in notebook PC segment in the second quarter of the year 2010.  Strong channel support and sales services resulted in Dell’s takeover (BS Reporter, 2010).
Furthermore, PSG rivals like Apple Inc., Lenovo Group, ASUSTek Computers Inc., and Acer Inc. give strong competition to HP in Asia-Pacific region. In image and printing segment, HP faces strong competition from Canon USA, Lexmark International Inc., Xerox Corporation USA, South Korea based Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Brother Industries Ltd (hp annual report, 2010).
Buyers and Bargaining Power
HP operates in more than hundred countries; a large number of buyers or customers also exists. The more buyers that exist, the more bargaining power they have.  For instance, HP’s customers are small IT firms, government – non government offices, hospitals, academic institutions, banks, retailers and more.  HP’s personal computing and image and printing division proudly serves Johnson and Wales University.  When an increased number of potential buyers exist in the market, they often have an increased bargaining power. This leads customers having more the control over pricing as well.
Degree of Product Differentiation
The tremendous and aggressive market competition forces companies to develop new product lines.  It’s become essential to differentiate product from rivals, for instance Dell, ASUSTek, Apple etc. are competing with HP in the PC industry where as Xerox and Canon are strong competition in the copying and printing industry. HP developed wireless image printing technology and added multiple new features in personal desktop printers that make it unique from its market rivals. Furthermore, more competition leads to lower product pricing.


Product Innovation and technology Change
To sustain in the dynamic IT industry, R&D is the crucial part of any company. HP is currently world’s largest IT Company (hp, 2011). HP’s R&D expenses increased after acquisition of companies like Palm Inc., 3PAR Inc. (HP annual report, 2010).
 “People worship the rising sun”, same thought applies to technical field. Market favors first-come-first. Like in terms of revolutionary tablet iPad launched by Apple Inc., and before competitors properly launch alternative to iPad, Apple Inc., launched iPad 2 just before few days (Apple, 2011). HP still waits for its HP WebOS based tablet but still not released in the market (Palm, 2011). HP has still good chances to cover overseas market where Apple has still not released its product. Mostly in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East countries, HP can sell its upcoming touchpad and get pre-release advantage.
Dynamic and ever-changing technology forces industry continues update its hardware-software. HP also jump in mobile OS war where everyone competing to beat Apple’s revolutionary iPhone. Entrance of Android OS for cell-phones ring death bell to small segment mobile manufactures like HP’s palm and IPAQ brands. Most manufactures adopted Android where as HP still trying to comeback with its palm OS devices.
Demand and Supply
 IT Conglomerate HP relies on number of suppliers for product line assembly to final product delivery. Those suppliers also known as OMs (outsourced manufactures). Various suppliers give flexibility to HP in supply chain and manufacturing process. To cover large demand from the market, HP offers pre-configured units, inventory management makes efficient supply chain to deliver product to customers. Demand and supply is the key factor in product distribution and can adversely affect growth or profit margin. HP identifies factors affecting demand-supply under “Risk Factors” (hp annual report, 2010) which are:
 Shortage
Sometimes shortage of components or delay in receiving components from third party (OMs) fails to fulfill customer satisfaction when delivery delayed due to third-party’s delayed.
 Oversupply
 Sometimes HP pays / buys components from OMs in advance, but surplus of components may not meet the requirement of customers and ultimately affects gross margin. Hence surplus leads to lower gross margin.
 Contract
HP involves sometimes in contract with third party vendors which makes it mandatory purchase of components at higher price even though market offers it at lower price, this could adversely affect product price and product line.
 Single source supplier
Single source of supplier could be the big issue when no alternative exists in the market. For instance HP uses Intel’s chip (processors) for most of its PCs and servers. Furthermore, Intel’s chipset became the core component for many HP’s product where alternative doesn’t exist, however some customizable product offers alternatives like AMD. Thus loss or delay from single source could adversely affect HP’s revenue and gross margin.
Vertical Integration
In the year 2007, former CEO of HP predicted that in coming years vertical integration will likely to continue and it will accelerate too (McLaughlin, 2007). HP’s rival compete parallel in product development. Like HP’s PC segment largely overcome by Dell in India. HP and Dell now make televisions, thus introduction of two new market rivals in consumer electronics.
     HP now facing vertical integration in smart phone wars with RIM and Apple Inc., HP seems to lag behind in this war (Enderle, 2010).
Economies of Scale
 HP’s economies of scale continue rising after acquisition of companies like Palm Inc., 3Com Corporation, 3PAR Inc., and ArcSight Inc. in the year 2010. The company also acquired few other IT companies in past decade. HP’s CEO Mr. Apotheker also unveiled HP’s boost in software segment by acquisition strategy (Kopytoff, 2011). Also merger of HP and Compaq in the year 2001 became landmark for development of personal computing industry (hp, 2001). Hence acquisitions always played a major paradigm shift for the economies of scale for the company.
Learning / Experience Curve
Learning / experience is continuous evolution for any industry. HP enjoys its success as world’s largest technological company. HP’s ProCurve experienced a market growth rate 4 times higher than that of industry’s rate in the year 2008.
            ProCurve is a networking device solutions based on wire and / or wireless systems. Hence increased in HP’s networking solution and ease of network infrastructure showed higher growth rate than its rivals. With the development of programs like ProCurve, HP enabled to build excellent data collection and storage systems and building next generation data center optimization network (hp, 2011).




CONCLUSION
The analysis of the external environment of the PC industry indicates that it continues to recover from financial decline of 2006-2009 and is forecasted to regain strengthen in market growth for forecasts of 2009-2014.  The consumer market has been compromised by unemployment but still the demand for innovative mobile PC products is high and the competitive landscape is catering specifically to this market trend. The shift from desktop to laptop computers has been strong and all companies in this industry are focusing research and design efforts to accommodate for this consumer demand. The PC industry is working to enhance recycling capabilities. Increased awareness of the dangers of technological waste has become a well-recognized topic among PC providers. Dell and HP are leading the way with specialized programs to retrieve, resell or recycle their dated computer equipment.
The Porters analysis of this industry suggests that bargaining power is moderate due to Microsoft’s dominant position as a supplier in the PC industry. While substitutes continue to emerge the quality and brand recognition continue to stabilize Microsoft’s position. Consumer bargaining power is moderately high due to a wide range of products and services on the market. Consumers have many choices ranging from quality, price and performance. The threat of substitution in the market remains low despite the accelerated demand of smartphones and mobile devices. PC manufacturers such as HP continue to develop technologies that are invaluable for large enterprise, corporate business and consumers. All of which are not easily substituted by a smartphone or mobile device. Rivalry is high in the PC market and competitors continue to strive to provide innovation and product design that cannot be replicable by competitors. The prevalence of acquisitions, mergers and strategic partnerships define the competitive landscape.
The future objectives of the PC industry are currently defined by the consumer demand for mobile PC devices. The iPad, HP Slate and Dell Precision notebooks are key players in today’s market. The competitive landscape is wide with the Asia-Pacific region gaining on the Americas strong hold of the industry.  Hewlett-Packard maintains the strongest advantage because of the highly diversified product line and strong connection to business enterprises. The overall industry is anticipated to grow from a 150 billion dollar value to that of 163 billion by 2014. The mobile PC market accounts for 54.3% of this industry.
Driving forces in the PC industry has responded to industry globalization. The Asia-Pacific region has positioned itself well in the PC industry. Technological change is rapid and product innovation continues to flourish; challenging companies to handle inventory effectively and price products efficiently. As PC products and services become more replicable marketing innovation will drive product sales and distinguish product offerings. Apple proved the power of marketing by launching and selling three million iPads within the first three months of consumer availability.
The Key success factors of this industry are highlighted by agile technological adaptation of market demand and consumer trends, effective marketing and branding, efficient cost control and most importantly a talented workforce. Innovative capabilities are a focus to all competitors in the PC industry emphasizing the importance of technological advancement and R&D.




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