HP Expands Technology Portfolio for Small Businesses
At "The Art of Small Business" event, HP also announced new HP Total Care services, a Small Business Connection web portal and a "Boost Your Business" editorial contest with Forbes.com - all designed specifically for small businesses.
(Media-Newswire.com) - HP today unveiled 12 new products and services at a special event hosted by the company to showcase how small business customers are making technology work for their individual businesses.
At "The Art of Small Business" event, HP also announced new HP Total Care services, a Small Business Connection web portal and a "Boost Your Business" editorial contest with Forbes.com - all designed specifically for small businesses.
HP was joined by several small business owners at the event, where the company additionally previewed small business owner and fashion designer Vera Wang's upcoming "Personal Again" ad campaign spot and showed off the HP Chopper designed and built by another featured customer, the Orange County Choppers.
"HP empowers small businesses by making technology simple and accessible, freeing time for business owners to focus on the business itself," said Satjiv Chahil, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP. "HP is the only company capable of providing small businesses what they need every step of the way, from selecting reliable products to offering tailored advice and award-winning service and support."
According to a fourth quarter 2006 report by the market research firm IDC, HP is the overall worldwide leader in unit shipments in the PC, server and hard copy peripherals markets for small and medium-size businesses.( 1 )
Products specially tailored to meet critical small business needs
HP released several new products that address four key customer needs: mobility and networking, business protection and security, do-it-yourself marketing and retail point-of-sale.
Mobility and networking:
The new HP Compaq 6515b and 6715b Notebook PCs come integrated with the latest mobile broadband,( 2 ) Wi-Fi( 3 ) and Bluetooth™ wireless technologies. They also provide a choice in the latest AMD processors, including AMD Turion™ 64 X2 dual-core mobile technology.( 4 )
Backed by a lifetime warranty, the ProCurve Networking by HP 1400 Series and 1700 Series network switches are easy to install and maintain, and they provide high-performance and highly reliable connectivity that is ideal for building trusted networks for small and growing businesses. Security and data protection:
The HP StorageWorks Media Vault Pro enables businesses to better meet their growing needs through expandable network storage and enhanced protection services.
The HP ProLiant ML115 server, an entry-level server at a desktop PC price, can keep pace with the rapidly growing IT demands of small and medium-size businesses.
The HP Compaq dx2300 Business Desktop PC combines value and advanced features such as Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors, with available services for assured data integrity in the event of a disaster, such as a 60-day free trial of the new HP Smart Data Protection Service on select models. Retail point-of-sale system:
The HP rp5700 Point of Sale system with HP-branded peripherals offers retailers a flexible, industry-standard solution with advanced technology, five-year lifecycles and available Microsoft® Dynamics - Point of Sale 2.0 software to help automate business for more efficient operations. Additional product information is available in an online press kit at http://www.hp.com/go/artofsmallbusiness2007.
Designed with small businesses in mind
HP Total Care for Small Businesses, available in the United States, includes a range of free and fee-based support, services and programs to ensure customers receive personalized services for every stage of their computer's life: from choosing, configuring and protecting it, to tuning and, ultimately, recycling it.
New additions to the Total Care portfolio include HP Total Care Advisor, which will be available on commercial PCs and includes an interactive interface that provides easy access to critical information about the customer's PC. Total Care Advisor now includes Easy Printer Care Software 2.2, which offers proactive alerts to resolve printing issues, generates printer usage reports and tracks toner cartridge and paper levels for easy reordering.
Financing options for small businesses enable customers to reduce the cost of obtaining their technology by taking advantage of promotional zero percent lease rates with a 27-month term across all products through April 30, 2007. Additionally, paperless leasing is now extended to Canada in addition to the United States.
For small and medium-size business customers who already have integrated PC security protection, HP now offers the HP Smart Data Protection Service to further protect customers' critical business data from a variety of threats via online backup and recovery. The service starts at less than $12 a month.( 5 )
Between now and June 30, 2007, customers purchasing select HP Care Pack service plans on certain notebooks, desktops, workstations and handhelds will be eligible for a rebate of the full price they paid for the Care Pack if they do not receive service on their hardware for the life of the service plan. This promotional rebate supports the newly launched HP Compaq 6715b and 6515b notebook PCs and the Compaq dx2300 Business Desktop PC.( 6 ) "HP Total Care simplifies the technology experience for small businesses, giving them a straightforward way to access, use and evaluate solutions designed to meet their needs throughout the PC lifecycle," said Laurie McCabe, vice president of AMI Partners, a research and consulting firm to small businesses. "And, with Total Care Advisor, small businesses have ready access to essential information about their PCs, which makes its easier to manage their systems."
Tailored advice
HP is working with Forbes.com on its "Boost Your Business" online contest for small business owners. Bolstered by a panel of experts, this contest aims to identify and celebrate sound business ideas with the most promise for growth. Contestants can submit their stories about how they want to grow their business to the Forbes.com website beginning today.
A $100,000 grand prize winner will be honored in New York City at a presentation in the Forbes Galleries, hosted by HP and Forbes this fall. Complete contest rules and details are available at www.forbes.com/BYB.
HP has expanded its small and medium business website to include a new section called Small Business Connection, www.hp.com/go/sbc. With this new section, the website becomes a "one stop" location where business owners can find information and resources to help grow and market their businesses. The new section prioritizes key products, services and solutions and shares helpful content from the main site, including free online classes and business templates, success story videos and interactive features such as dynamic polling and social marketing tools.
Additional information on the announcements above and today's "The Art of Small Business" event, including HP's work with SCORE, the National Association of Women Business Owners and Administaff to provide advice to small businesses, is available in an online press kit at www.hp.com/go/artofsmallbusiness2007.
About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers - from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $94.1 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended Jan. 31, 2007. More information about HP ( NYSE: HPQ ) is available at http://www.hp.com.
( 2 ) Wireless use requires separately purchased service contract. Check with service provider for availability and coverage area. Available in select countries only.
( 3 ) Wireless access point required and is not included. Availability of public wireless access points limited. Wireless Internet use requires separately purchased Internet service contract.
( 4 ) This system requires a separately purchased 64-bit operating system and 64-bit software products to take advantage of the 64-bit processing capabilities of AMD Turion 64 X2 technology. Dual-core processing available with AMD Turion 64 X2 technology is a recent technology innovation designed to improve performance of this system. Given the wide range of software applications available, performance of a system including a 64-bit operating system and a dual-core processor will vary.
( 5 ) HP Smart Data protection service is sold as a one-year fixed HP Care Pack Service, which, including installation, start-up and ongoing support for data backup and restore, starts at $140 for 1 gigabyte of storage. Actual price may vary.
( 6 ) Service is defined as an onsite visit by a technician, parts shipped to the customer or a unit shipped to HP for service. Phone support does not limit eligibility. This promotion only supports those products outlined in the terms and does not support all of the products described in this announcement. Customers must register the HP Care Pack Service with HP within 30 days of the original purchase date on eligible products. ( Resellers can register products on behalf of their customers. ) To claim the rebate, customers must submit a completed and signed claim form along with the invoice/receipt postmarked and received within the required dates. Limit 10 rebates per customer. See the redemption form for the full terms and conditions of this offer.
*Not all products are available in all regions.
Bluetooth is a trademark owned by its proprietor and used by Hewlett-Packard Company under license. AMD, AMD Turion and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Intel and Intel Core are trademarks or registered trademark of Intel Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Microsoft is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include the achievement of expected results and other risks that are described from time to time in HP's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the risks described in HP's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, 2007. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
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This story was released on 2007-03-29. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.