By Rieva Lesonsky
A recession can actually be a great time to upgrade your business’s technology. There are plenty of good deals to be had—and plenty of innovation going on.
Consider HP, which just expanded its Total Care line of products and services, designed for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). The new offerings address key concerns entrepreneurs have today—including cutting costs, saving energy, boosting productivity and keeping data secure. I am a bit of an HP junkie. My desktop, laptop and Notebook and our printer are all HP products.
The HP StorageWorks X500 Data Vault Series helps you protect your business data and automate backups. Users with up to 10 PC and Mac clients can store information in a central place and easily share files regardless of employee location. For maximum uptime, the HP StorageWorks X3000 Network Storage Systems High Availability Bundles combine hardware and software into one storage solution for files and applications. It automatically eliminates duplicate files, protects against drive failures and reduces setup time
I travel fairly often and know how tough on my back and shoulders lugging a laptop around can be. That’s why I’m craving the new ProBook 5310m Notebook PC. HP is touting it as the world’s thinnest full-performance notebook, making it ideal for entrepreneurs on the go. The innovative QuickWeb feature lets users access the Internet in seconds when the notebook is shut down.
My company, GrowBiz Media, turned to HP earlier this year when we re-branded and needed help with new marketing materials. HP just updated its MarketSplash by HP Web service, which lets you download and edit hundreds of professional-quality templates for brochures, flier and business cards for free. You can either print them yourself or choose a nearby print provider. HP has also teamed up with Yahoo! to help entrepreneurs create a brand identity for their business without spending a lot of money.
By using the HP Creative Studio, the HP Total Care site and the Yahoo! Small Business portal, you can access services including Web hosting and custom Web site design services from LogoWorks by HP. (LogoWorks designed our GrowBiz Media Web site; check it out at www.growbizmedia.com.)
Showing that HP really does understand small-business owners’ needs, the company is offering some helpful financing assistance at HP Financial Services. Until October 31, 2009, SMBs can take advantage of the Economic Recovery Lease program, which offers a 36-month lease plan with fixed-price purchase options. And until December 31, 2009, you can get up to $1,000 cash back on the purchase of a new HP LaserJet, Officejet Pro or Scanjet printer when you recycle an old printer through the the HP Trade-in and Save Program.
You can find out more about the new offerings here.
