Hewlett-Packard Co. is bringing its utility computing initiative to the client side, according to company officials.
Using a host of new chips and chip sets released by Intel Corp. over the past week, HP is rolling out new commercial desktops, workstations and mobile offerings armed with the new processing capabilities as well as added management and security features.
HPs Adaptive Enterprise strategy—like comparable initiatives from such OEMs as IBM, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Fujitsu Ltd. —is designed to enable customers to view their IT resources as a single pool, dynamically managing them in accordance with business needs.
Thats important on the client side as well, officials said, pointing to such needs as standardization, heterogeneity and collaboration with partners.
The Palo Alto, Calif., companys new commercial PC is the Compaq Business Desktop dc7100, the first in the companys high-end dc7000 line. The desktop comes with the latest Pentium 4 processors and 915G chip set released last week by Intel, which include faster frequencies, PCI Express technology and support for faster DDR2 memory.
In addition, the desktop comes with a 15-month stable image, Altiris Inc.s Local Recovery software for backup and recovery, and HP ProtectTools security offering, including Embedded Security Manager, a combined hardware and software solution that manages such security tasks as authentication and encryption through a single interface.
Rich Dodd, senior product manager for HPs commercial desktops, said customers still want the latest technology, but they are pushing for more features that help them manage their PCs and save them money.
“Whats becoming important to customers [are features such as] longer image stability and security,” Dodd said. “Yes, raw speeds and feeds are important, but a lot of these features are important in cost savings.”
The dc7100 will be available in early July starting at $749.
HP is putting similar features into new workstations being rolled out Monday. The entry-level xw4200 uses Intels new Pentium 4 processors with speeds of up to 3.6GHz and 64-bit extensions—enabling the chip to run 32-bit and 64-bit applications equally well—and the new 925X Express chip set with PCI Express and DDR2 memory support.
The xw6200 and xw8200 are powered by Intels next-generation 32-bit Xeon processor, which also includes 64-bit extensions.
They also include integrated serial ATA hard drives. In addition, the xw6200 comes in a smaller chassis, which is important for such customers as financial analysts and engineers, who need the power but have little desk space, said Josh Peterson, product manager for personal workstations at HP.
The xw8200 can scale up to 16GB of memory and 1.5TB of internal storage. Unlike many PC users, workstation users look for the latest technology, Peterson said.
“Workstation users tend to demand the best performance they can get,” he said. “The workstation customer needs the latest and greatest technology.”
The xw6200 and xw8200 are available immediately, starting at $1,399 and $1,799, respectively. The xw4200 will be available next month starting at $849.
HP also is offering mobile features, including the Next Generation Mobility Architecture, designed to give remote users the same secure and manageable access to data that theyd have at their desks.
The company also is introducing the Mobile Print Driver for Windows that can wirelessly connect notebooks to printers using 802.11 or Bluetooth technologies.