HP recently announced new offerings to help small and medium-size businesses (SMEs) prepare their technology infrastructures for a growing mobile workforce.
With more than 1.1 billion mobile appliances in use worldwide (1), organisations of all sizes are challenged by the need to access, manage and secure mobile devices and the data generated by them. HP Converged Infrastructure provides the ideal platform for secure continuous access to data and applications.
With partner solutions from Citrix, Microsoft and VMware, HP also delivers improved employee accessibility and productivity as the requirements for mobility continue to grow.
New offerings from HP include technology solutions and services, as well as financing and training programs that enable resource-challenged SMEs to simplify IT while enhancing collaboration in an increasingly mobile world.
Predefined solutions secure, simplify mobile access
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 (2). The trend to use devices to access e-mail and other business data requires SMEs to prepare their infrastructures to support increased mobility.
New HP solutions and services enable organisations to:
* Improve security with HP Client Virtualisation SME virtual desktop solution. The solution includes reference architectures-such as HP ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) servers and client virtualisation software from Citrix, Microsoft or VMware-that protects company data by storing user profiles and data on a centralised server. This enables SMEs to provide secure access to applications from thin clients, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Information remains protected on the server even if the device is lost.
* Reduce risk and complexity of client virtualisation projects with HP Client Virtualisation, Analysis and Modelling, a pre-packaged service that analyses the existing IT environment to simplify and speed deployment of virtualisation for medium-size organisations and help them embrace mobile technology.
* Simplify adoption of mobile technology with HP Transformation Experience Workshop for Mobility, a service that aligns business and IT stakeholders to ensure employees have access to data while upholding security requirements.
* Increase uptime for a growing mobile workforce with HP Business Protection Solutions, preconfigured reference architectures based on HP Converged Infrastructure and best practices in data protection, network security and disaster recovery. These customised solutions guide SMEs in the design of a risk-mitigation program to ensure continued accessibility to company data from a mobile device.
Collaboration tools improve productivity for mobile workforce
To support the acceleration of mobile devices, HP and its partners are helping SMEs improve employee productivity and drive business efficiency.
* Improves collaboration with HP Unified Communications & Collaboration (UC&C) Solutions with Microsoft Lync, an integrated hardware and software solution that enables SMEs to securely videoconference, share information on desktops and collaborate to improve productivity. The comprehensive UC&C solution includes Microsoft Lync software, HP voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones, HP networking and HP ProLiant Gen8 servers, storage and services.
Simplified infrastructure for SMEs embracing mobility
Small and medium-size organisations need simple, reliable and economical computing to support growing data and new applications across wired and wireless environments. New solutions based on HP Converged Infrastructure help companies to:
* Simplify network management with the expanded HP Multi-Service Router (MSR) Series, an all-in-one, customisable platform that allows clients to streamline deployment of networks by integrating security and wired and wireless networking features into one device.
* Reduce power costs with the HP 1910 8G Switch Series, which features energy-saving power over Internet (POE) technology to deliver simple, reliable and cost-effective network access for rich-media applications, such as voice and video.
* Address the explosion of unstructured data from a growing mobile workforce with increased capacity and simplified management featured with HP X5000 Storage. This highly available clustered network attached storage (NAS) platform reduces IT administration time for SMEs by ensuring users have access to file data from their mobile devices.
Increased support for SMEs, channel partners
HP provides SMEs and channel partners with a broad range of programs to drive growth, create new revenue streams and ensure collaboration. Enhanced programs provide:
* Improved sales skills for small-business owners through HP Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs (HP LIFE) e-learning. The new cloud-based platform, hosted on HP Converged Cloud infrastructure, offers free information and courses in 20 languages to help SMEs establish or grow their businesses. HP LIFE has helped create 43 000 jobs with 20 000 organisations worldwide since 2007 (3).
Availability:
The HP Client Virtualisation SME Reference Architecture for Microsoft VDI is scheduled to be available in September. All other solutions and services are available now through HP and worldwide channel partners.
Additional information about HP's new SME offerings is available at http://www.hp.com/go/whatsnewforsmb.
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HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.co.za.
HP's premier Europe, Middle East and Africa client event, HP Discover, takes place 4-6 December in Frankfurt, Germany.
IDC, DC Directions 2012: “Mobility Devices: The Truth about Tablets, Touch, Notebooks, PCs and Phones”, by Bob O'Donnell, May 2012.
Gartner, “Gartner Reveals Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users for 2012 and Beyond”, December 2011.
HP internal sources.
Microsoft is a US registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
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