Stop calling HP a PC company today. It is fully committed to solutions and experiences and is stronger than ever with the acquisition of Poly.

Enrique Lores, CEO of HP, makes a powerful statement at HP Amplify, the annual celebration of the brand, where it informs its global channel partners. He shows a clear chart during his keynote, showing that after two golden Covid years, HP paid the price in 2022 with declining numbers. Also in 2023 Lores knows that it will be difficult.

In an interview with ITdaily, he explains his story. “We never do forecasts at HP, but I wanted to point out the market trend in my keynote. After every fall there is an increase. It’s up to us to be ready. Our supply chain is also being thoroughly assessed and addressed following the lessons learned from the pandemic.”

We found it particularly striking that HP greets its channel partners with such a statement. Admittedly, more at the beginning than at the end of such a keynote, but still. It also shows realism at the same time. At the end of his keynote, he flexes his muscles with the promise that HP will come out faster and more aggressively.

Four structural changes

During his keynote, Lores points to four structural changes HP will be making and working on today. He starts with AI; we didn’t expect anything else. “I see opportunities to create new product categories. This can be done by expanding the PC portfolio, but also by using AI to service devices before they fail.” Lores points to the success of AI and ChatGPT in increasing the company’s productivity.

The second structural change is the strengthening of the supply chain. “Globalization is becoming increasingly important, especially with today’s geopolitics, but also for the climate.” Lores also points to trust as a third structural change. “Today there is less trust in government than ever before. Businesses can earn that trust. You have to build a good reputation, which is more important than ever for HP.”

Hybrid working is a cliche, but it’s the fourth major change at HP. “Employees have embraced the flexibility of working from home, but work remains hybrid. You work at home, but also in the office or on the go. In the office, you want better meetings with better engagement on video calls.”

Koen Van Beneden, Managing Director at HP Benelux, confirms that this statement is not hot air. “I have the feeling that the company has changed a lot in the last five years. We have embraced this hybrid working, it is central to our entire range of devices and services.”

New product categories

A lot sounds like typical CEO talk, but it triggers us with the new product categories. If we ask him what he means by that, we get two concrete examples.

For example, HP is working on new devices for label printing. The manufacturer has a lot of experience with laser and inkjet, but not really with thermal printers. It remains to be seen how concretely HP intends to enter this market and how it can challenge brands such as Epson, Brother and market leader Zebra.

Lores shares a second tip from the Veil about a new category of PCs. Today you have Pro and Elite PCs in the business segment and Z for the creative professionals. According to him, a lot of work is being done on a new cast with a focus on AI. “This category needs to incorporate a lot of data into algorithms. Such borderline cases require a lot of computing power. We are working on a new category there to better serve this group.”

AMD is back

AMD’s comeback among laptop manufacturers is striking. After years of systematically putting a bigger foot in the door, that door is now wide open. Almost the entire range of HP PCs have an AMD option in addition to an Intel option. AMD CEO Lisa Su even reported on stage to explain the closer cooperation with Lores for half an hour.

By the way, it’s only right that AMD is back at the table everywhere. Their chips are at least equal to those of Intel on the PC market today. There are even devices for the first time co-developed with HP to get more out of the chip’s architecture. Such a thing was unthinkable until recently: only Intel had the capacity (and the money) for it.

Nice detail: AMD was just as big a “Diamond” sponsor of the HP Amplify event as Intel. AMD was allowed to come to the keynote, Intel only got a 10-minute video call on stage. The evening party was sponsored by Intel, not AMD. Premium behavior, but it shows that AMD is ubiquitous and an interesting option in almost every category.

Impressive printer portfolio

After the keynote speech by the CEO and CFO, it was not the PCs but the printers that were the first to be in the limelight. Before you skip straight to the next paragraph, stop, we know printers are dusty, but this time it’s really engaging. Promised.

We’ve already written about the new Terrajet toner technology, which is more energy efficient and has a wider color gamut. Printers have traditionally been slow to evolve, which makes such a major technology upgrade remarkable. This, coupled with a radically new lineup for SMEs and corporates, should intimidate the competition, according to Van Beneden. “Our fresh new design with fun colors stands out, but don’t forget the new integration technology that should finally give IT teams less gray hair.”

The same applies to the extensive line-up of new devices that HP will be launching in the coming months. Expect a significant expansion of tank printers with their reusable bottles.

Last but not least there is the introduction of Instant Ink for Business, the business variant for SMEs. “This is a top-of-the-line product that I have high expectations for,” says Van Beneden. “Where managed print services have sometimes not been accessible enough for businesses, Instant Ink for Business can fill the gap. There is no more user-friendly way of printing today.” In our test, Instant Ink performed very well in terms of price/quality, let’s wait and see how the business version performs in terms of price.

sustainability everywhere

Every business today needs to address sustainability, and HP is no different. It is already used in more than 300 products oceanbound Plastics and the brand likes to show their EPEAT Gold label on many devices. Exactly twenty years ago, HP started an ink cartridge recycling program. Today the brand passed the milestone of 1 billion recycled cartridges.

It is also working on an HP Revitalize program. Refurbished devices with this label can expect all data to be erased, defective parts repaired, and everything cleaned so that the device can be sold again. In France, the first commercial devices will be available as part of this program from the third quarter of 2023. The choice for France is logical as a test case. The country is the first country in the world to implement the obligation in the context of tenders that 20 percent of the devices must be remanufactured.

After all, HP wants to position itself more strongly as a green choice. We’re seeing the Go Beyond campaign on Amplify for the first time. In doing so, she wants to make clear what is sustainable in ecological devices. For example, we get to see a sample of the HP Pavilion Plus 14” laptop box, the longest-lasting laptop in the brand’s stable.

At a glance you can see the most important properties, such as oceanbound Plastics, post-consumer plastics, recycled aluminum, 100% recycled packaging, EPEAT Gold, and a QR code you can scan for even more information.

demolish walls

Alex Cho, President of Personal Systems at HP, clarifies, “We’re not a PC company. We deliver solutions and experiences.” We’ve written it before, but the brand insists. With HP Anywhere (Teradici acquisition) and Wolf Security, it has some unique advantages to hold its own against the competition.

In addition, with the takeovers of HyperX (gaming) and Poly, interior walls will be torn down. There are still business units, but it’s about the overall experience. Technology is used reciprocally, silos are disappearing.

Van Beneden: “We have gained a strong asset with the acquisition of Poly. We are now a one-stop shop for every (home) office. That puts us in a very strong position today, but even more so in the future if we can further integrate Poly’s technology with HP.” The competition is getting their chests wet.