HP keeps an eye on Africa

By Siyabonga Africa, ITWeb junior journalist

Johannesburg, 19 Mar 2009

SA is crucial to Hewlett-Packard`s (HP`s) long-term strategy of expanding further into Africa, it says.

The company states it will focus on growing the three key areas of its business: printing solutions, computing products and technology solutions.

"We have a good portfolio of products and we are keen on spreading them out to the rest of Africa," says HP EMEA MD Francesco Serafini.

Serafini says the company sees Africa as an important market for its long-term goals. For the short-term, HP will build up SA as a hub and point of entry into the rest of the continent.

HP SA MD Oliver Fortuin says HP is committed, as a good citizen and a business, and this would entail further unspecified investment into the country.

"There is leverage for the rest of the continent from having a strong SA office and we are doing that by building up our business and the solutions we can offer to the country first before moving out," Fortuin adds.

Growing business areas

Serafini says in the coming year HP will grow its three major business areas in printing, computers and appliances and miscellaneous technologies, such as its server and software ranges.

Despite the fact HP`s printing and imaging revenue declined in the first quarter by 19%, to $6 billion (R59.2 billion), Serafini is adamant the company`s printing sector has a strong market share.

"We have always had a strong presence in the printing industry and we will continue to dominate in that area. But we want to now focus growing our other business areas in graphic construction and PC development."

HP plans to enter the high-end computer space with several new consumer-oriented notebooks and PCs in order to compete with the likes of Apple and Sony. Serafini says HP`s goal is to strengthen its portfolio of products and services.

Socially responsible

HP SA says it is keen to grow and continue its graduate learnership programme, the HP Business Institute (HPBI), which will see the first set of graduates leave the programme this June. Fortuin says the company hopes to train more than 850 graduates in the next five years.

"Being a responsible citizen, we aim to also address the issue of skills development in SA," says Serafini.

The HPBI is an enterprise development programme, which aims to help with the growth of existing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the IT sector. It`s also a skills development programme aimed at existing employees of these SME broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) IT companies, and graduates in the IT sector.

HP SA transformation manager Benni North says the primary focus for the HPBI is on developing the necessary skills in high growth areas of the IT industry. These skills will be developed within existing SME BBBEE IT companies, enabling these companies to break through into more sustainable and lucrative areas of the industry, he notes.