<quick rant, not qualified analysis, don’t read much into it>
So Leo Apotheker got HP. Or did HP get Leo? Either way, the former SAP CEO has just been named as the future savior of HP. Great pick. HP’s troops have never been more demoralized, and Leo has a lot of experience with demoralized troops. Not so much leading them out, but in … oh, well.
Anyway, Enterprise Software guy takes over the box-maker – after his predecessor, box-maker Mark Hurd found refuge in Oracle – you know, the software company-turned-box-maker 
(Btw, my quick summary when that happened was: Chuck got chucked, Katz got Hurded)
Now HP also gets Ray Lane, former Oracle veteran – hey, this all makes sense, since Oracle got the HP guy.
Enterprise Musical Chairs…
</rant>
P.S. Purely unfunded speculation: Enterprisey Birdies chirp that Leo might be orchestrating a SAP takeover…
[…] Larry Ellison is “speechless”, but of course, not really. Insiders are either depressed and hate the Board or happy and fired up, depending on who you talk to. My colleagues among the Enterprise Irregulars are sharply split and opinions range from not saying anything if you have nothing good to say, to applauding the potent polymath team HP now possesses at the top (sorry, needed to get those P’s in for impact!). There is talk of software being the “glue” (good thing it isn’t the foundation as it’s only 3% of HPQ’s revenues) and rewriting of legacies. There is talk of this new CEO’s abrasive style. That one worries me a bit. The HP’ers I’ve known have been sensitive to this, and both Hurd and Carly Fiorina had problems with the rank and file not liking them. It isn’t clear that Apotheker sets out to be a well-liked leader. OTOH, a lot of the folks that like Leo for the job have experience seeing him in action, so maybe his style isn’t such a problem. I’m from the school that thinks CEO’s need to be tough, but fair, and hopefully right. Zoli Erdos, who is also an ex-SAP’er is less complimentary, but characteristically funny: […]