Spring Sees HP Drive Growth

Author: 
Molouk Y. Ba-Isa, Arab News
Publication Date: 
Tue, 2008-03-25 03:00

DUBAI, 25 March 2008 — HP’s financial results were strong for its first fiscal quarter and the company is clearly determined to keep its bottom line in the black. To that end, HP has decided to make changes in its advanced research group, HP Labs. Such a move was to be expected. A Korean high-tech company which redefined their R&D two years ago, mentioned that they did so because it just wasn’t acceptable that their engineers spent time creating vacuum cleaners that could fry eggs — simply because it was technologically possible. That Korean company felt that there had to be a market rationale for research. HP seems to have come to a similar conclusion.

The new HP Labs consists of 23 distinct labs across seven worldwide locations; it is led by Prith Banerjee, who joined as director last August. Collectively, the labs are to focus on five main areas: information explosion, dynamic cloud services, content transformation, intelligent infrastructure and sustainability.

The company stated that the redesign of HP Labs is intended to balance exploratory research with an entrepreneurial approach so breakthrough technology can be transferred more rapidly into commercial applications for customers. HP Labs will pursue 20 to 30 large research projects — instead of the 150 smaller projects in the past — based on insight gained from expanded relationships with universities, partners, customers and venture capitalists.

Labs researchers will turn discoveries into commercial offerings under the guidance of a new review board composed of HP technologists and business executives. Review board members will identify the most promising research areas and build business plans for projects early in their research lifecycles.

HP is also promoting three initiatives to encourage a model of open innovation and technology transfer.

First, the company has introduced HP IdeaLab, a web-based service that offers a peek into certain early-stage innovations emerging from HP Labs. The company hopes HP IdeaLab will encourage open feedback from consumers and the developer community. The site — www.hp.com/idealab — will initially feature six projects.

Next, HP Labs has established an Open Innovation Office responsible for deepening HP Labs’ strategic collaborations with those in academia, government and the commercial sector. The office is designed to ensure joint research endeavors result in high-impact research that meets the scientific and business objectives of HP and its partners. As part of this initiative, an Entrepreneur in Residence Program is being established to give venture capital investors and their portfolio companies early access to HP Labs research. In return, HP will receive insight into emerging market trends and potential business development opportunities.

And finally, HP Labs has established a Technology Transfer Office charged with speeding the transfer of research into products and services through multiple routes. The developments from HP Labs are of course eventually reflected in the products offered by the company to businesses and consumers. The Middle East continues to be a growth market for HP and as such, the company is paying more attention to this region, trying to capitalize on what seems to be an as yet unquenchable thirst for computers, printers and other high-tech devices.

To serve the enterprise market, HP continues to offer workstations. While mobility is the trend for consumers and small offices, HP still sees a demand from medium and large firms for workstations. According to market-research firm IDC, HP is the market leader for total workstations in the Middle East in Calendar Q4 2007, with 54.5 percent market share.

HP’s workstation growth in the region has been driven by fast-developing economies, vertical markets, and the workflow and productivity transformations that quad core technology brings to customer environments. HP recently introduced two eight-core workstations in the Middle East — the HP xw6600 and HP xw8600 — both powered by two next-generation Quad-Core and Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors. The new workstations are designed to meet the needs of some of the most computing-intensive industries, including software design, architecture, high-definition video, game development, scientific imaging and oil exploration.

And while HP has long served large enterprises in the region, the company is well aware of the growth potential offered by the small office/home office (SOHO) segment. This month, HP introduced in the region its smallest and most affordable monochrome laser printing system for SOHO — the HP LaserJet P1005/P1006 Printer series. The printer features one of HP’s latest advances — Spherical Monochrome Toner built-in with a “smart” chip, providing SOHO users higher efficiency at work.

While many individuals first experienced computing at work, more and more people are aware of the potential uses of IT in their personal lives. To meet the requirements from consumers, HP has been introducing many more fashionable notebooks that allow consumers to combine entertainment applications with more standard IT fare such as browsing and e-mail. Two of the company’s most recent notebook offerings are the HP Pavilion tx2000 Entertainment Notebook PC and the Special Edition Thrive Imprint Notebook PC.

The Pavilion tx2000, priced starting at AED4799, is an eye-catching 12-inch ultra portable convertible notebook, which offers the versatility of a tablet PC and the convenience of a touchscreen. The notebook is wrapped in the new HP Echo Imprint design. Weighing from 1.94kg, the HP Pavilion tx2000 is both thin and lightweight. Its AMD dual core processors provide speed and the NVIDIA GeForce Go graphics offer great visuals.

The HP Pavilion dv6700, priced at SR5,499, is a15.4-inch notebook that comes with a metallic red finish and a subtle, but distinctive “Thrive” pattern. The notebook is equipped with Intel Core2 Duo technology and a spacious hard drive. Completing the notebook’s look is a color coordinated wireless mouse for ultimate comfort at work or at play, as well as a slender slipcase to stylishly protect your notebook. Touchpad media buttons allow the launch of music, DVDs and photographs with just a swipe of the finger, perfect for no fuss entertainment on the move.

“HP is bringing a breath of fresh air to store shelves this spring. First-time buyers and tech-savvy design enthusiasts alike will find what they are looking for among this new array of notebook PCs which combine elegance, sophistication and energy efficiency for the style- and eco-conscious,” said Elena Danici, category manager, Consumer Products, Personal Systems Group, HP Middle East.

Consumers and small businesses should be on the lookout for retail surprises on the horizon from HP. While the company will not be participating directly in the upcoming GITEX Saudi Arabia IT exhibition that begins April 20, they do plan to have special product offers and other events across Saudi Arabia to coincide with the show. Plus, if you’re a parent with a teenager graduating from high school, remember that June is always a big month for HP to introduce new products. Keep that in mind when planning technology purchases for students going off to university in September.

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