HP splitting the webOS GBU in two; software headed to Office of Strategy and Technology [exclusive]
Ready for things to get shaken up once more in Sunnyvale? Good, because it's happening. We've received two memos sent to employees of HP's webOS Global Business Unit that tell the story …
Context & Ripple Effects
HP had already reshaped webOS leadership in July, placing Stephen DeWitt over the business while Jon Rubinstein moved to product innovation; the subsequent assurance that HP was not abandoning webOS made continuity of the platform a stated priority. HP’s August exit from webOS hardware put that commitment under pressure, leaving software strategy as the central question.
Splitting the webOS Global Business Unit and placing its software side in the Office of Strategy and Technology separates the platform from the hardware operation HP has chosen to leave. The change turns webOS from a self-contained device business into a software asset managed nearer to corporate strategy.
First-order effects
- webOS software staff move under HP’s Office of Strategy and Technology, while the webOS Global Business Unit is divided into separate operations.
- HP must manage webOS without its own hardware business, following the confirmed exit from webOS devices.
Second-order effects
- The Office of Strategy and Technology becomes the decision point for webOS product direction, reducing the webOS unit’s ability to pair platform development directly with HP-made phones and tablets.
- The reorganization gives HP a way to retain webOS engineering after the hardware exit, but shifts the platform’s success criteria away from device sales.
Third-order effects
- If HP continues to retain webOS while shedding its device operation, the company is testing a model in which operating-system development is treated as a strategic capability rather than the core of a standalone hardware unit.
- The sequence from the July webOS leadership reshuffle to this division shows how corporate reorganizations can move a platform from product ownership toward centralized technology stewardship.
The trend: HP is separating platform software from dedicated device ownership as it redefines webOS after leaving its hardware business.