HP is a Great Company — Why Has It Struggled in Software?

Interesting observation by Judith Hurwitz (HBR Blog Network 4 Oct 2011 (Can HP Change its DNA?): “… when software is delivered to the market, it may take a year or even several years before it becomes a well-accepted and profitable endeavor. But that time investment is rewarded, because when software proves useful to customers its longevity is assured. Customers tend to stay with a software product for many years, continually investing in yearly maintenance agreements and follow-on products. A hardware company accustomed to instant feedback, in the form of revenues, on its products’ market success often panics at the slow pace of the software market revenue model. This is what I’ve observed at HP. As it has tried to invest in software, again and again it has killed products off before they had time to mature.”