* Renewed focus on the under 100 employee market
HP rolled out multiple new products on March 28, and also rolled out a new attitude and focus on the small business market.
I’ve chided HP for lumping businesses with 1-1,000 employees under the “small and medium enterprise” tag, but the focus for this event was on the 1-99 employee company. HP feels this group buys in much the same way consumers buy, so HP can leverage its considerable retail presence.
Companies this size rarely have a full time technical support person on staff, so HP considers these folks essentially technically unmanaged. I disagree that companies on the upper end of that scale don’t have a full time support person, but I do agree that person rarely has the experience and education to handle every technical support issue.
HP’s new product list covers the gamut except, oddly enough, printers. A new microtower desktop (dx2300) uses Intel processors as opposed to the slightly older and less expensive dx2250 outfitted with AMD processors. Both run Vista, but you can still get Windows XP or FreeDOS if you plan to put some other operating system on the box.
Storage-deprived companies can hang on a bit until the HP StorageWorks Media Vault Pro ships, or they can grab the new entry level HP ProLiant ML115 Server starting at $499. The server doesn’t have an operating system included at that price, but HP will install server software from Microsoft, Red Hat, or Novell/SUSE Linux before delivery.
You can also add extra hard disks and create your own RAID for hardware fault tolerance more easily, and cheaply, than ever before. You will need to add memory, however, since 512MB of RAM doesn’t go far enough on servers anymore.
The new laptops, 6515B (14.1 inch screen) and 6715B (15.4 inch screen) use AMD processors and are otherwise identical. Starting price is $649, which is a good price since it includes hard disk encryption, a motion sensor to park the hard disk heads to avoid damage when the laptop gets banged around, and a biometric fingerprint reader.
The rp5700 point of sale system now comes in a smaller case, has more horsepower, and 10 USB ports. I thought six USB ports on the old unit were enough, but HP says customers were actually filling all six ports. The only POS software available from HP remains the Microsoft Dynamics Point of Sale 2.0, but we can’t blame them for that decision.
I spoke with John Dayan, Vice President, Marketing, Personal Systems Group, Americas (pretty small print on that business card) about HP’s new products and small business focus. He says small business is the fastest growing market segment, and HP’s share continues to grow even as the market expands.
“We want to help small businesses with the total life cycle of the PC,” Dayan said. “Our TotalCare service includes financing as well as support, backup tools, and more information for small businesses on our Web site.”
I asked how this new marketing approach is different from Dell, which also proclaims undying love for the small company market. Dayan sat up straighter and leaned forward, saying, “Our quality and reliability is as good as anyone, and our service and support has been ranked No. 1 in all areas recently.”
More than that, HP gives you a completely different philosophical approach to sales than Dell. Dayan emphasized the partnerships HP has forged. “We offer true choice, and the customer can buy direct, through a retailer, or through one of our many resellers. We work with SCORE and NAWBO to help educate customers.”
SCORE (Service Core of Retired Engineers originally, but now they prefer just “SCORE”) and NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) had representatives at the product launch. SCORE helps HP organize their business matchmaking meetings discussed last October.
What’s ahead for HP in the small business market? Dayan laid out some products and product areas.
“We see more demand for video, and leading edge wireless. You start by bolting it on, like a camera adapter for an iPAQ, and later you build it in.” The new laptops include three wireless technologies: EVDO for cellular broadband, Wi-Fi for standard data networking, and Bluetooth. “We’ll be adding more audio and video to more lines, based on work from our Design Labs. That’s where technology and customer demands join together.”
Education has become a priority as well. After watching Apple and then Dell develop big market share in K-12 public schools and also higher education, HP plans to jump in aggressively. It’s hard to consider a school district a small business, but the types of problems solved in developing better products for that market will find their way to products in the small business catalog soon.
HP already awaits wherever a small company looks for equipment, whether a retail store, online, or a local reseller. And HP promises more, not less, attention to the small business market going forward.
