ency of computers, etc? Could the funds allocated to Agilent show a better return in the computer side? Less than 20% of HP뭩 sales came from this branch in 1998. Is HP뭩 core competency changing? PC뭩 were HP뭩 mainstream revenue makers, but with the evolving PC markets, profit margins shrinking and consumer knowledge increasing, HP is force to move into different markets. Examples are servers and e-services. Too many alliances? Will this create conflict of interest? By collaborating with too many companies, such as AT&T and others, will this create a conflict of interest for HP? Getting 밿nto bed?with too many companies, HP could find itself without strong alliances. The best approach for HP would be to develop strong, long-term, alliances that will benefit both parties for many years in the future. Section 8 Business Level Strategy With respect to the computer related market, HP is attempting to pursue a somewhat low price strategy, meaning that HP keeps its prices in the same range as competitors, but at the same time give additional products or services to differentiate its products from the competition. HP has high brand awareness and as the PC market is moving from a 밹ash cow?to a 밺og?in the BCG matrix, HP is capitalizing on new markets to create 뱒tars?within its SBUs. HP뭩 differentiation can be either a tangible difference, such as adding Internet service with the purchase of a PC or an intangible difference by the level of technical service and customer service provided HP addresses the entire market, but has separate products targeted to segments. The Pavilion line is targeted to home/personal PC use, while the Vectra and the new Brio lines is targeted to business use. HP focuses on providing its customers with the products and services it needs. This is a valid strategy, but can cost the firm profitability because there is a high cost associated with providing so many ...
