HP converges SME technology

HP has announced new offerings to help SMEs prepare their technology infrastructures for a growing mobile workforce, eChannelLine reports.

They include reference architectures for HP Client Virtualisation and Business Protection based on converged infrastructure, new services to be sold by partners but delivered by HP, new product, and enhanced financing and training programmes.

"We do this every year, look out into the small and mid-market segment, which are faced with challenges from a growing mobile workforce, and bring out a new set of solutions and services that are end to end," said Lisa Wolfe, worldwide small and mid-market business (SME) leader, Enterprise Business at HP.

HP is offering several new networking solutions based on its FlexNetwork architecture, including the 1910 8G Switch Series, a PoE energy-saving solution that enhances network access for rich-media applications such as voice and video, StorageReview.com writes.

It allows organisations to deploy a switch with built-in intelligence to handle voice and video applications on thin clients, laptops, tablets and smartphones used in conference rooms and hospitality environments. The switch comes with a lifetime warranty that includes free software upgrades and technical support for customers migrating to Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6), and starts at $229.

The expanded HP Multi-Service Router (MSR) Series is designed to reduce network complexity by integrating mission-critical network services such as security and wired and wireless networking features into one device. 802.11n wireless local area network (WLAN) and 3G wide area network (WAN) modules are now integrated into the HP MSR, enabling customers to access WLAN or WAN with one device. The MSR Series starts at $499.

According to Gartner research, by 2016, at least 50% of business e-mail users will rely primarily on a tablet or mobile client instead of a traditional desktop, suggesting a rising need for IT infrastructure solutions geared towards mobile clients, eWeek notes.

HP's Client Virtualisation SME virtual desktop solution improves SME security by protecting the company's data, storing user profiles and data on a centralised server. The offering includes reference architectures, such as HP's ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) servers and client virtualisation software from Citrix, Microsoft and VMware. The reference architecture for Microsoft virtual desktop interface (VDI) is scheduled to be available in September, the company said.