HP Expands Its “Just Right IT” Portfolio for SMBs


HP SMB technology portfolio

This past week HP expanded its Just Right IT program for small and medium sized businesses, with new offerings. The goal behind the Just Right IT program is to enable small and midsize businesses to scale up their information technology (“IT”) infrastructure as they grow.

Think beyond desktop computers or laptops.  Yes, HP offers those.

But the Just Right IT Program is about servers, virtualization, collaboration tools, cloud computing, storage, networking and the tools to support that kind of infrastructure, along with financing options to invest in it.

The HP SMB Approach

HP first launched the Just Right IT program ten months ago, back in March of 2013.  The concept is that HP is making plug-and-play components available that are designed to be less complex to configure and deploy than IT for large enterprises — and affordable on a smaller budget.  A small business can start out by meeting core needs, say with a server, email, and central database and software.  As the business grows, the IT can be added on to, without having to scrap everything and start over.

To make it easier for small and midsized businesses to choose, HP has set the solutions up into “bundles” depending on the size and needs of a business. The latest launch layers on more product and service choices to the core program.   New are HP ServeIT and HP ServiceIT.

The new offerings build on the HP ProLiant servers, which form the foundation of the Just Right IT program:

  • HP’s ServeIT program offers flexible bundles (“Flex-Bundles”) to keep pace with the demand for virtualization as well as Microsoft Exchange and VMWare technology, suitable for businesses either just getting started with virtualization or further along.  For instance, HP’s SMB First Server Solution has a form factor that can even fit into a home office.
  • The HP ServiceIT portfolio includes cloud services including cloud software-as-a-service and infrastructure-as-a-service solutions.  There are also support services at various levels, from foundation through to advanced.  And HP Financial services assist with making the investment in IT affordable.

For Various Sized Businesses … and Channel Partners

HP defines small businesses as those with under 100 employees.  Midsize businesses are those with 100 to 1000 employees.

The HP SMB approach is to add efficiency whatever the size of the business, as it grows, especially in a changing computing environment.

Demands on IT infrastructure are evolving, according to HP representatives.  The Bring-Your-Own-Device to work (BYOD) trend, as well as the explosion in mobile devices, have required IT infrastructure to stretch in new ways.

But therein lies the challenge.  Choosing IT can become more complex.  Yet, time and resource constraints put pressure on smaller businesses.

“SMBs don’t want 125 different options. They want focused choices,” said Lisa Wolfe, Leader, Worldwide Small Midmarket Business, HP Enterprise Group, in an interview.  The Just Right IT program, including the latest offerings, is designed to try to make the selection, implementation and support of IT more streamlined, to save time and money.

HP has also made a point to tie in its reseller channels.  Many SMBs rely on outside consultants and service providers to assist them with choosing, implementing and supporting their IT infrastructure.  HP respects those channel relationships, Wolfe added.

Image credit: HP

3 Comments ▼

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

3 Reactions
  1. Hi Anita,
    Great post! There was a time not so long ago when even small businesses seeking to really harness the power of digital technology for managing their information had pretty much no option but to create some kind of IT department, even if it was a few guys in the back office who maintained on site servers and integrated all the office technology in with them. These days, it’s possible for even very small companies to both create and scale a very formidable and reliable IT system at a considerably lower cost depending upon their needs.

  2. Mind blowing article Anita. Indeed it is a great opportunity for SMBs to expand their IT setup.
    Thanks for the wonderful idea. Its worth a million dollar!