I have been a CE for HP for the last 20 years. In reality a CE in the region where I work does much more things than fixing/installing computer equipment
In my country ( I don´t know what happens in others) the support/installation/service Bussines has net margin of at least 45% (seems very good to me), and the main cost are the spare parts (80-90%), being the rest of the costs, workforce and other expenses (trainings,transportation, office costs, tools). After going up in the corporate structure the margins highly decrease to less than 10%. Why would this happen, someone can wonder and wher things should be fixed.
I can´t imagine how much HPE would increase profits as people´s work is not the main cost in this bussines. We were asked to sell additional services to customers when possible, this will be gone with the people, too.
Also, many customers buy HPE products because our service is better (going worst thanks to continuous cuts) than other vendor´s services, not because our products are better or cheaper.
What I know from customers and other people in this industry, Unisys´service is awfull. Dell also use Unisys as service provider, making buying dessitions for customers just a question of boxes´costs. We are not the cheaper.
On the contrary, I imagine service&support margins going down (at a faster rate than the normal trend) beacuse of excesive parts use, poor service, support contracts loss and lower sells.
If there is a brilliant strategy hiden somewhere, I can´t see it.
I thing of a spreadsheet cost reduction ( I mean, in the imagination of HPE management by looking cost columns in a spreadsheet) and a big bonus for our directors after the project is finished, followed by a vanishment act.
I don´t know if our management really believes that our new and improved (sarcasm) CSR systems (Click-TSM) and our excelent Response Center (sarcasm again) would do the magic to make a cheap on-site service provider give a world class service.
Or they are too stupid, or too cynical.
May be I am the stupid.....