Whitman takes another swipe at Dell and EMC

'I happen to like our hand better than the Dell-EMC hand', claims HPE boss

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is planning on "taking advantage of the disruption" caused by the Dell-EMC deal in the same way it did when IBM sold its server business to Lenovo, according to CEO Meg Whitman, who has taken another pop at the duo.

When Dell announced its plans to buy EMC, Whitman predicted "chaos" for its partners and customers.

On an earnings call on Friday, Whitman said her firm - which recently split from HP Inc in a bid to become more agile - is in a better position than Dell, which is pursuing the opposite growth strategy by acquiring EMC.

"We have taken very different strategies in this environment - there's no question," she said. "And so we decided to get smaller while they got bigger. We decided to lean into new technology while they're doubling down on old technology in a cost-takeout play. They levered up while we de-levered. And we are super-focused on being fast and nimble for our customers. So both strategies may work. I happen to like our hand better than the Dell-EMC hand."

She said her firm has experience of cashing in as rivals change.

"So how are we taking advantage of the disruption in the marketplace? We learned a lot about how to do this in the context of IBM's sale of its server business to Lenovo," she said.

"We have a very focused channel play... and we have a big opportunity to go take Dell and EMC business much as we took a lot of the Lenovo business. And so we're seeing good results in the marketplace. We're rolling out our full sales efforts. You're going to start to see even more advertising and digital as we capitalise on another one to two years of uncertainty as this deal closes and they work through the integration."

She added: "The other thing is, we continue to invest in innovation. And you have to think about Dell-EMC in many ways as owned by private equity. And you can do your own calculation on what you think the debt interest payments are going to be. For perspective, the entire EMC R&D budget is $2.7bn [£1.9bn]. So we feel good about our hand. Two completely different strategies, but I like where we are."