Hewlett-Packard Company expanded its HP Total Care portfolio to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) build a strong technology foundation that increases their productivity and collaboration, reduces environmental impact and provides greater flexibility as they refresh technology in preparation for the economic turnaround.

New offerings include:

• two desktop PCs and displays;
• solutions to collaborate in increasingly virtual work environments;
• HP LaserJet printer designed to help customers reduce their carbon footprint and save money;
• server and storage products to protect data; and
• a networking switch and solution to reduce costs and improve productivity.

“SMBs are the pulse of the economy, and HP is partnering with SMBs to provide a boost as the economy rebounds,” said Kathy Chou, vice president, Worldwide Small and Midsize Business Strategy, HP. “All businesses must find a reliable foundation upon which to build their futures, and for SMBs, HP’s new offerings will help sustain their well-being and prepare them for upcoming growth.”

For Saladino’s, a $385 million company that supplies restaurants up and down the West Coast, a sophisticated and reliable technology infrastructure is critical to meeting customer needs and tight delivery deadlines. The company, based in Fresno, Calif., upgraded to new enterprise resource planning software while standardizing on HP servers, storage and desktop PCs by working with Western Blue, an HP partner.

“HP systems are flexible and reliable. They have solid desktop PCs and the best server technology on the market. Knowing the different vendors, HP was an easy choice,” said Craig Urrizola, chief information officer, Saladino’s. “The benefit of the HP infrastructure continues long after the original deployment. I can easily manage the solution using web tools, and with every blade server that replaces older servers, we save power and improve efficiency. The new architecture also accommodates growth and change, providing important flexibility to our business.”

Flexible solutions for cost-effective expansion

HP’s new offerings offer SMBs value, productivity
and the flexibility to evolve
with the needs of their businesses:

• HP Pro 3000 Series Business Desktop PCs can easily be refreshed for evolving business needs.
• HP Connect Solutions help SMBs more conveniently connect with customers, colleagues and partners. Components of HP Connect Solutions include: HP Virtual Rooms: allows users to connect with business contacts, employees or family at any time. HP Virtual Support Room: allows support engineers to access, view and control other computers online to troubleshoot and quickly address problems for customers and other offices. Huddle.net: a cloud computing offering that combines collaboration, project management and document sharing with no software to download. A 30-day trial for 20 gigabytes (GB) of storage and 20 workspaces is available. Norton Online Backup from Symantec: backs up information and media content to a secure online location. A 30-day trial for 5 GB of storage comes installed on HP PCs.(A free 30-day trial of Norton Online Backup comes installed on HP PCs with 5 GB of storage. Users also can purchase a 25 GB online storage plan for $39.99, a 20 percent savings, now until Dec. 31, 2009. (Offer valid in United States and Canada only. Internet access required.)
• HP business computing bundles bring end-to-end IT capabilities to small business owners. The bundles, which include HP Thin Clients, HP ProLiant servers and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, efficiently deliver Windows desktops, business applications and remote access while improving security and reducing total costs.
• HP Compaq LE1711 and HP Compaq LE1911 LCD Monitors are low power consumption panels with high quality.
• The HP ProCurve 2520 Switch Series is designed for SMBs that need to deploy voice, video and wireless applications requiring PoE (Power-over-Ethernet).
• The HP ProLiant ML110 and DL120 G6 Servers offer SMBs enterprise-class performance at a cost-effective price.

Maximizing resources

• HP also released a survey confirming that today’s administrative staffs need affordable solutions to stay productive as the economic turnaround takes hold. To help SMBs maximize their assets and resources, HP announced:
• New and enhanced storage solutions – the HP StorageWorks DAT 320 Tape Drive
• Less than 1-inch thick, the HP Smart 65CW AC Travel Adapter includes a USB port that can charge two devices using only one power outlet.
• HP Virtualization Smart Bundles with Hyper-V – built on HP ProLiant, StorageWorks and ProCurve products, along with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 – ease virtualization deployment for SMB customers.
• HP SimpleSave hard drives for business customers, available in 500 GB, 1 terabyte (TB) and 2 TB versions, automatically find and back up data on a PC – there is no software to learn, install or configure on the PC.

Managing environmental impact
HP expanded its HP Eco Solutions for printing with new solutions designed to reduce the impact of printing on the environment:

• HP LaserJet P2055d Printer ($299): With Instant-on Technology, the ENERGY STAR qualified printer provides up to 50 percent energy savings over traditional fusing technology
• HP Eco Solutions Print Console: This industry-first tool helps SMBs easily manage a printer’s energy and paper-saving settings directly from a PC. Available later this winter as a free download for the HP LaserJet P2055d/dn Printers.
• HP Green Action Plan for Office Printing: This plan leverages tools such as the HP Carbon Footprint Calculator for printing to guide SMBs through an easy process to assess their carbon footprint and build an environmental printing strategy.

HP also announced that the small business communities of the Village of Suffern and the Town of Ramapo, N.Y., will participate in a community-wide environmental initiative to reduce their energy consumption by up to 60 percent, carbon footprint by up to 41 percent, paper use by up to 37 percent, and energy and paper costs by up to 38 percent.

Financing and new HP Access offers
HP provides SMBs with many offerings designed to manage, protect and grow their businesses:

• HP offers SMB customers a full range of flexible financing solutions through HP Financial Services, the company’s leasing and life cycle asset management services subsidiary.
• HP Access has been updated to include more than $1,000 in software and service offers and up to $2,000 in rebates for SMBs with any HP hardware purchase.
• The HP PC Helpdesk Service features specialized technicians located in North America who remotely control and troubleshoot a wide range of software and support issues on Windows-based PCs and mobile devices.
• HP PC Tune-up Pro is an in-depth assistance service designed to remove viruses and increase the speed and performance of customer PCs. HP technicians remotely control PCs and launch a comprehensive set of performance-boosting diagnostic and protection tools.
• A stand-alone migration service for any original equipment manufacturer PC, Win 7 Onsite Upgrade Service offers installation and training on Windows 7 and XP virtual mode, and provides onsite support to assist with the transition to Windows 7.
• HP Support Assistant is a software application installed on Windows 7 PCs that provides support for a seamless Windows 7 PC experience.