Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. today
announced major enhancements to its Smart Office initiative in Canada. The
company has launched an SMB Expertise Centre, as well as new services,
products and financing solutions intended to make IT solutions more
affordable and accessible for Canadian small and mid-sized business
customers (SMBs).
Smart Office, announced globally in September 2003, is part of a US$750
million worldwide initiative to help SMB customers get more expertise,
reliability, productivity and a better ownership experience from their IT
investments.
Starting today with the introduction of HP’s SMB Expertise Centre, small-
and mid-sized businesses in Canada now have access to a dedicated team of
professionals mandated with helping SMBs evaluate their needs and choose
technology solutions to meet specific business requirements.
“It’s clear to us that access to consultative expertise is a top priority
for small and mid-sized businesses,” said Lloyd Bryant, vice-president,
Personal Systems Group at HP Canada. “Our new Expertise Centre will help
SMB
customers wade through the often difficult task of selecting and buying the
appropriate technology tools to solve their most pressing business needs.”
New Smart Support Services
<p.HP recognizes that small and mid-size businesses rely on their IT investments just as much as any large business. SMB customers need service
and support configured specifically for them. Introduced today, Smart
Support is a collection of HP-branded services and solutions specifically
designed to help meet the needs of small to mid-size businesses and help
them to maximize their technology investments.
<p."The HP Smart Support suite looks like a promising step in addressing the
unique needs of SMBs rather than simply repackaging enterprise offerings,"
said Michael Hyjek, Analyst, Customer Segments, IDC Canada.
HP Smart Support services announced today include:
* HP Learning Curve – Provides the convenience of online, single-source
training for a range of hardware and software products from HP and other
vendors. Only HP Learning Curve features global search capabilities, “Ask
the Expert” instant chat functionality, and a comprehensive list of
available topics geared specifically to SMBs. With HP Learning Curve,
customers receive 24/7 unlimited access to a virtual IT specialist for 12 months for CDN$209.
<p.* IT professional Help Desk for SMB — Provides expert, affordable support
for SMB customers who have limited IT resources and want increased IT
productivity and efficiency. This service provides IT manager-level support
for customers' computing environments, and helps to minimize downtime. It
includes 24/7 access to a private Web site that features comprehensive
information resources such as troubleshooting tools and guides, electronic
newsletters and access to 'hot fixes'. With the HP IT Professional Help
Desk
for SMB, customers receive support for five incidents across their IT
environment over a12-month period for CDN$2,170.
* HP Care Pack Electronic Vaulting Service — Available for HP ProLiant
servers, the HP Care Pack Electronic Vaulting Service features continuous
online backup and byte level data replication. Back-ups are monitored on a
24/7 basis, further enhancing reliability and eliminating the need for
hands-on administration. This service starts at CDN$229 per month for one year.
* Proactive Plus for SMB — Provides comprehensive proactive and reactive
software support services for Microsoft environments on HP
industry-standard
servers, such as the new HP ProLiant 100 series. With an assigned Account
Advisor, SMB customers receive personalized expertise that allows them to
anticipate problems before they occur and, therefore, minimize downtime.
For CDN$1,645, customers receive five incidents of reactive software support, plus proactive tasks, over a one-year period.
Extended Expertise
Complementing HP’s new SMB Expertise Centre, the partnerONE channel network gives customers access to a local set of trusted technology advisors with
the HP background to design, implement and support business solutions built
specifically for SMBs. These partners are trained by HP to help SMBs
understand technology choices, software and business solutions.
The partnerONE Unified Support Network combines HP’s experience, advanced
parts logistics capabilities, service delivery methodologies and training
and certification programs with partner capabilities to deliver support at
the local level.
Halifax-based IMP Solutions, an information technology solutions provider
with customers across Atlantic Canada and the country recognizes the value
of the HP partnerONE Unified Support Network.
“IMP Solutions is focused on offering strategic and cost-effective ways to
meet the IT demands of our SMB customers,” said Joe Spampinato, director of
sales at IMP Solutions. “Being part of HP’s partnerONE Unified Support
Network means our customers know that we are able to provide them with the
right products and solutions to solve their unique business needs.”
Solutions that Work
The HP SMB product portfolio delivers reliable, affordable and easy-to-own
technology solutions that are best-in-class and work together seamlessly.
HP has introduced two new notebook lines to meet the needs of mobile SMB
customers, including a thin and light travel-friendly notebook (HP Compaq
Business Notebook nx5000 starting at CDN$1,749) and a desktop replacement
(HP Compaq Business Notebook nx9110 starting at CDN$1,849).
These new mobility offerings complement HP’s strong line of desktop PCs,
including the HP Compaq Business Desktop D220 microtower, starting at
CDN$499, which is specifically designed to deliver industry-leading value at the lowest possible price to SMB customers. The HP Compaq Business Desktop dx2000, which starts at CDN$999, is a full-featured PC designed specifically for SMBs that require greater reliability and low operating costs from their PC systems.
HP has recently introduced the low-cost HP ProLiant ML110 server (starting
at CDN$1,042). The ML110 is an affordable server at the price of a desktop.
Practical performance, such as Intel Pentium 4 processing, ECC memory, and
PCI-X support deliver the IT functionality small businesses require.
HP Color LaserJet printers recently introduced include the HP Color LaserJet 3500 series (starting at CDN$1,149) and the HP Color LaserJet 3700 series (starting at CDN$1,749).
HP’s newest imaging and printing offerings for the SMB offer a full range of printing, faxing, copying and scanning capabilities. These new offerings include: the HP Officejet 9100 series all-in-ones (starting at CDN$849) that are cost-effective ink-based devices offering networking capabilities to increase workplace efficiency; and the HP LaserJet 3000 series (starting atCDN$449) laser-based monochrome all-in-ones that produce professional-looking documents, conserve limited office space and fit comfortably within smaller IT budgets.
