ANALYSIS OF MAJOR COMPETITORSHEWLETT-PACKARDDell and Hewlett-Packard have been competing for the top position in the personal computer industry for years. In 2006, Dell had a worldwide market share of 16.6% in the PC industry compared to HP's share of 16.5%, but it later fell to 14.9% while HP's share rose to 18, 8% in 2007. Dell offers a wide range of products related to personal computers. products for consumer, business, education and government sectors. Among its competitors, Dell stands out as the world leader in direct sales of computers. It has flexible and reliable supply chain management that reduces costs. It reduces inventory and the risks of operating in such a competitive industry where technology is constantly evolving. Michael Dell believed that its "build to order" strategy would give it numerous competitive advantages over its rivals, such as HP. Unlike Dell, HP sells PCs through distributors, resellers, and other channels (346). For example, Staples and Best Buy offer HP products online and in local stores for consumers to physically see and touch. Consumers may also find HP products at independent distributors in regions where HP is not available. In order to maximize production efficiency, large-volume orders from large companies were assembled according to each customer's specific specifications. The remaining units were assembled and shipped to HP's retail and distribution partners. Hewlett-Packard made its largest acquisition with Compaq in May 2002. Carlyle Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard at the time, believed that the acquisition of Compaq would transform HP into the world's largest computer manufacturer. He explained: “With Compaq, we become No. 1 in Windows, No. 1 in Linux and No. 1 in Unix… With Compaq, we… middle of the paper… can bring revenue to 80 billion, according to Michael Dell. Such an optimistic vision comes from the fact that more and more people are online. In 2003 there were 500 million devices with internet connectivity and in 2007 12.5 billion such a promising prospect was probably good enough for Michael Dell and Silver Lake, a private equity firm, to strike a $24 billion deal with Dell shareholders to take over the company and take it private. Each shareholder will receive 13,000. $75 per share plus 13 cents dividend. After 25 years as a public company, Dell will remove its stock from the NASDAQ stock market. Dell has also been part of the S&P index for 17 years. This new Dell will pose a new threat to the rivals because it is now willing to take more aggressive steps without worrying about whether they will meet investor expectations.