HPE to sell off software businesses - report

Storage and server vendor is reportedly considering further divestments after announcing plans to spin out its services business

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is considering the sale of some of its software businesses, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report says that the assets to be sold come from a portfolio of acquisitions made over the last 10 years - including Autonomy, Mercury Interactive and Vertica Systems - as chief executive Meg Whitman looks to make HPE nimbler. An HPE spokesperson told CRN they would not comment on the speculation at this time.

HP's $10.3bn (£8bn) acquisition of Autonomy has been at the centre of controversy since its completion in 2011. Last year HP accused the former Autonomy leadership team of "fraudulent activities" while at the helm, before ex-CEO Mike Lynch filed a lawsuit against HP for its "public smear campaign against him" and sought $150m in damages.

It was later revealed that former HP chairman Ray Lane tried to pull the plug on the takeover at the last minute, claiming he was "haunted" by the deal.

Any potential divestment will follow the announcement that HPE will be spinning out its Enterprise Services division and merging it with CSC.

The storage and server-focused vendor was formed last November when Hewlett Packard split in two, creating HPE and HP Inc.