????惠特曼在今年九月走馬上任惠普（Hewlett-Packard）CEO之后的首個季度財報發布會上反復強調，惠普將在2012年回歸正軌。這究竟意味著什么？其一，便是減少混亂；另外，也預示惠普將不會再進行大宗收購，斥資100多億美元收購企業軟件制造公司Autonomy這樣的交易可能將成為絕響。

????“我們不能只靠收購來獲得發展，”惠特曼在周一召開的電話會議上稱。“這條路行不通。惠普內部研發實力雄厚，我們要做的是保證行動正確，投資到位。”

????看來，2012年避免大手筆收購的決心足夠堅定。今年八月，惠普大肆宣傳收購Autonomy公司的決定。許多投資者都認為這一高價收購并非物有所值。另外，上一季度收益下滑【部分原因是惠普收購Web操作系統（WebOS）無果而終】，債務負擔日益攀升，在這個背景下，緊縮開支的做法不無道理。

????惠特曼的保守做法對大多數忐忑不安的投資者而言無疑是一副鎮靜劑。但是，避開大宗收購也會產生負面作用。雖然惠特曼做出了正確決定，保留公司的PC業務，但是惠普仍需增強軟件陣容，才能與IBM、甲骨文公司（Oracle）和思愛普公司（SAP）等同行競爭。如果將更多資金投入內部研發，并不能立即為惠普帶來應有的市場效益，因為要看到投資回報至少需要幾年的時間。與此同時，由于競爭對手現金充足，無疑有能力通過收購在企業軟件競爭中先聲奪人。前任總裁李艾科在傳達自己理念方面乏善可陳，但或許他的想法是正確的，那就是推動惠普這個世界上最大的計算機制造商向更為盈利的軟件和服務業務模式轉型。

????事實上，惠特曼也曾表示，惠普將在2012年開展2-3個小規模的軟件收購，但是規模不會像收購Autonomy公司那樣驚人。惠特曼上周一稱：“如果有好的收購項目，并且收購價在10億美元以內，或許我們也會研究一下。但是必須確定，收購的確能填補惠普的短板，代價又不是太大，同時又符合我們的財政紀律。”

????無論惠普這家高科技巨頭在2012年將完成幾個收購項目，節約現金對于重建惠普和與安撫股東來說，無疑都是個良好的開端。但它只是一個起點。一直以來，惠普經受著諸多問題的困擾，例如董事會丑聞、管理層震蕩和缺乏明確的領導層。惠普的核心業務PC和打印機的業績在第四財季出現下滑。更糟糕的是，近年來惠普公司的士氣一直低迷。

????對惠普而言，保持穩定和財務約束或許是件好事。但是，如果重新回流的保守主義使得競爭對手捷足先登，那么惠特曼2012年的征程可能將更加艱難。

????譯者：喬樹靜/汪皓

????On her first earnings call with investors since taking the helm last September, Whitman repeatedly said HP would get back to "business fundamentals" in 2012. What exactly does that mean? Fewer distractions, for one. It also means no big acquisitions like the $10 billion-plus purchase of enterprise software maker Autonomy.

????"We cannot continue to rely on acquisitions alone at HP," Whitman said on Monday's call. "It's just the wrong thing to do. We've got a lot of runway with our own internal R&D capability, if we run it right and invest in it right."

????The decision to avoid any big buys in 2012 seems solid enough. HP (HPQ) took a lot of flack when it announced it would buy Autonomy last August. Many investors just didn't feel the hefty price tag was justified. Add to that a profit decline in the most recent quarter (caused in part by charges related to HP's failed WebOS purchase) and a rising debt load and you've got good reason to tighten the purse strings.

????Whitman's conservative approach will come as a relief to most investors. But steering clear of big, bold acquisitions could backfire. While she made the right call in opting to keep the company's PC business, HP still needs to bulk up its software portfolio to compete with the likes of IBM (IBM), Oracle (ORCL) and SAP (SAP). Pouring more money into R&D won't give HP the kind of boost it needs in this market, as it will likely take several years to see a return on internal investments. In the meantime, rivals with ample cash could buy themselves even more of a head start in enterprise software. Ousted CEO Leo Apotheker might have done a lousy job communicating his ideas, but he may have had the right idea -- steering the world's largest computer maker towards a more profitable software and services business model.

????To be fair, Whitman did say HP would consider making two or three smaller software acquisitions in the coming year, but nothing on the scale of another Autonomy. "If there is a great acquisition in the $1 billion range, maybe we will take a look at it," Whitman said on Monday. "But we've got to be sure that it fills a hole, that we don't pay too much for it and that we are financially disciplined about it."

????Regardless of exactly how many acquisitions the tech giant ends up making in 2012, conserving cash is a probably a good starting point for rebuilding HP and making nice with investors. But it's just a starting point. HP has been plagued by boardroom scandals, executive shuffles and a lack of clear leadership. In the fourth quarter, it suffered declines in core businesses like PCs and printers. Even worse, morale at the company has been down for years.

????Stability and financial discipline will likely be a good thing for HP. But if its newfound conservatism lets competitors get ahead, the going may get even tougher for Whitman in 2012.