惠特曼推行新政，惠普勒紧腰带

    惠特曼在今年九月走马上任惠普（Hewlett-Packard）CEO之后的首个季度财报发布会上反复强调，惠普将在2012年回归正轨。这究竟意味着什么？其一，便是减少混乱；另外，也预示惠普将不会再进行大宗收购，斥资100多亿美元收购企业软件制造公司Autonomy这样的交易可能将成为绝响。

    “我们不能只靠收购来获得发展，”惠特曼在周一召开的电话会议上称。“这条路行不通。惠普内部研发实力雄厚，我们要做的是保证行动正确，投资到位。”

    看来，2012年避免大手笔收购的决心足够坚定。今年八月，惠普大肆宣传收购Autonomy公司的决定。许多投资者都认为这一高价收购并非物有所值。另外，上一季度收益下滑【部分原因是惠普收购Web操作系统（WebOS）无果而终】，债务负担日益攀升，在这个背景下，紧缩开支的做法不无道理。

    惠特曼的保守做法对大多数忐忑不安的投资者而言无疑是一副镇静剂。但是，避开大宗收购也会产生负面作用。虽然惠特曼做出了正确决定，保留公司的PC业务，但是惠普仍需增强软件阵容，才能与IBM、甲骨文公司（Oracle）和思爱普公司（SAP）等同行竞争。如果将更多资金投入内部研发，并不能立即为惠普带来应有的市场效益，因为要看到投资回报至少需要几年的时间。与此同时，由于竞争对手现金充足，无疑有能力通过收购在企业软件竞争中先声夺人。前任总裁李艾科在传达自己理念方面乏善可陈，但或许他的想法是正确的，那就是推动惠普这个世界上最大的计算机制造商向更为盈利的软件和服务业务模式转型。

    事实上，惠特曼也曾表示，惠普将在2012年开展2-3个小规模的软件收购，但是规模不会像收购Autonomy公司那样惊人。惠特曼上周一称：“如果有好的收购项目，并且收购价在10亿美元以内，或许我们也会研究一下。但是必须确定，收购的确能填补惠普的短板，代价又不是太大，同时又符合我们的财政纪律。”

    无论惠普这家高科技巨头在2012年将完成几个收购项目，节约现金对于重建惠普和与安抚股东来说，无疑都是个良好的开端。但它只是一个起点。一直以来，惠普经受着诸多问题的困扰，例如董事会丑闻、管理层震荡和缺乏明确的领导层。惠普的核心业务PC和打印机的业绩在第四财季出现下滑。更糟糕的是，近年来惠普公司的士气一直低迷。

    对惠普而言，保持稳定和财务约束或许是件好事。但是，如果重新回流的保守主义使得竞争对手捷足先登，那么惠特曼2012年的征程可能将更加艰难。

    译者：乔树静/汪皓

    On her first earnings call with investors since taking the helm last September, Whitman repeatedly said HP would get back to "business fundamentals" in 2012. What exactly does that mean? Fewer distractions, for one. It also means no big acquisitions like the $10 billion-plus purchase of enterprise software maker Autonomy.

    "We cannot continue to rely on acquisitions alone at HP," Whitman said on Monday's call. "It's just the wrong thing to do. We've got a lot of runway with our own internal R&D capability, if we run it right and invest in it right."

    The decision to avoid any big buys in 2012 seems solid enough. HP (HPQ) took a lot of flack when it announced it would buy Autonomy last August. Many investors just didn't feel the hefty price tag was justified. Add to that a profit decline in the most recent quarter (caused in part by charges related to HP's failed WebOS purchase) and a rising debt load and you've got good reason to tighten the purse strings.

    Whitman's conservative approach will come as a relief to most investors. But steering clear of big, bold acquisitions could backfire. While she made the right call in opting to keep the company's PC business, HP still needs to bulk up its software portfolio to compete with the likes of IBM (IBM), Oracle (ORCL) and SAP (SAP). Pouring more money into R&D won't give HP the kind of boost it needs in this market, as it will likely take several years to see a return on internal investments. In the meantime, rivals with ample cash could buy themselves even more of a head start in enterprise software. Ousted CEO Leo Apotheker might have done a lousy job communicating his ideas, but he may have had the right idea -- steering the world's largest computer maker towards a more profitable software and services business model.

    To be fair, Whitman did say HP would consider making two or three smaller software acquisitions in the coming year, but nothing on the scale of another Autonomy. "If there is a great acquisition in the $1 billion range, maybe we will take a look at it," Whitman said on Monday. "But we've got to be sure that it fills a hole, that we don't pay too much for it and that we are financially disciplined about it."

    Regardless of exactly how many acquisitions the tech giant ends up making in 2012, conserving cash is a probably a good starting point for rebuilding HP and making nice with investors. But it's just a starting point. HP has been plagued by boardroom scandals, executive shuffles and a lack of clear leadership. In the fourth quarter, it suffered declines in core businesses like PCs and printers. Even worse, morale at the company has been down for years.

    Stability and financial discipline will likely be a good thing for HP. But if its newfound conservatism lets competitors get ahead, the going may get even tougher for Whitman in 2012.