HP Inc. launched “HP Presence,” a portfolio of conferencing and collaboration solutions.
In 2015, HP split its operation: on one side is HP Inc., the printer and PC company. The other side, HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) company, deals with enterprise products and services. This launch is from HP Inc. who sees end-to-end collaboration solutions as a new way to bring together its PC hardware and software innovations — as well as its expertise in security.
Yes, HP is late to this party. But the world’s number one printer and PC company rolls out very comprehensive solutions (seriously comprehensive) and brings its big brand recognition.
The pandemic shift to hybrid work, says HP, changes the way people work together, both in and out of the office. With 80% of companies investing in ways to upgrade conference rooms, the office is shifting from a place where people go to work to a place where people gather to work together.
HP cites research that says 80% of executives are changing office spaces to focus more on collaboration — and conferencing and collaboration solutions are now a top priority for 67% of IT departments. HP Presence wants to join the party by designing meeting space solutions, PCs and peripherals for better conferencing experiences.
It leveraged the best of HP technology, including IP from HP Labs and the company’s deep printing and imaging expertise. HP Presence is delivered through a combination of hardware and software engineering to bring better audio and video experiences to a hybrid work era. Their HP Presence Meeting Space Solutions are a suite of scalable, bundled options with hardware and services for meeting spaces of any size, from huddle rooms to large meeting spaces.
The meeting space solutions interact intuitively with users to enhance the meeting experience — and deliver useful real-time analytics back to IT. HP Meeting Ready detects when people enter the room to wake the system. HP Speaker Frame is a picture-in-picture mode that spotlights in-room speakers. And HP Presence Room Assistant can report missing chairs, dry markers, trash, temperature issues and more.
The new meeting space solutions also leverage HP’s PC security innovations — cyber threat protection and camera privacy features.
HP Presence Meeting Space Solutions create conferencing experiences that make virtual meetings more personal with AI-enhanced audio (HP AI-Based Noise Reduction filters not only outbound noise but inbound noise as well), cinematic video and engaging controls. It is also the world’s first conferencing solution that contains ocean-bound plastics. ( I told you: HP is very, very comprehensive.)
Every HP Presence Meeting Space Solutions kit (whether for a small, medium or large space) includes an HP Presence Mini PC, an HP Presence Control Center, color-coded cables and mounting equipment. The HP Presence Solutions arrive packaged in the same box with a step-by-step setup application, making deployment a no-brainer. The tool-free, color-coded setup with the HP Setup App makes deployment easy.
The new products include:
- HP Presence Mini Conferencing PC: high-performance processing powerhouse PC with HP Wolf Security for Business
- HP Presence Control and HP Presence Control Plus: intelligent room controls with low-profile designs and adaptive AI-enhanced Audio by Bang & Olufsen. (HP Presence Control is for huddle rooms to medium-sized meeting spaces, while HP Presence Control Plus can accommodate medium to large meeting spaces)
- HP Presence See 4K, AI Camera: a 4K, AI camera that combines intelligent cinematic audio and video experiences with privacy — the camera is off when it mechanically rotates to face the floor
- HP Presence Audio Video Bar: for larger meeting spaces that require more audio and video, this device combines intelligent cinematic video experiences with privacy and audio custom-tuned by Bang & Olufsen. When the video isn’t being used, the world’s first conferencing solution smart camera with an automatic sensor-driven privacy shutter closes and shuts the camera off
- HP Presence Hub and HP Presence Talk Satellite Microphones: for large room deployments, there’s HP Presence Hub, and you can easily add up to two satellite microphones for additional voice pickup (with an easy-to-see status LED to show if the mute is on or off)
- HP Elite Dragonfly Max and the HP EliteOne 800 G8 All-in-One: the first HP PCs to be enhanced by HP Presence with innovative audio and video experiences
- HP Screen Clean: in two taps, it will safely wipe HP Presence Control or HP Presence Control Plus without disrupting meetings
- HP AI-based Clear Voice: identifies muffled voices (in case people are wearing a pandemic mask) and applies microphone gain to compensate and ensure the original voice is what is heard in the meeting
During the pandemic, as remote work became the norm, the conferencing and collaboration business grew dramatically. HP missed out as an entire industry segment enjoyed hockey stick growth. Now, as the world looks to get back to work, the way we work will remain changed possibly forever. Amid the celebrations, as we finally find our way to coexist with Covid-19, HP positions itself for the new hybrid work era.
HP may be late to the party that celebrates conferencing and collaboration technology, but it’s bringing the equivalent of a basket of goodies, a caterer, a DJ and an organizer. It’s the type of late arrival that might make others look like they rushed and came less prepared.