HP Launches Updated Thin Clients, MultiSeat Solutions

HP is enhancing its virtualization solutions portfolio with an update to its thin clients and HP MultiSeat solutions. The HP t5740e Thin Client is getting under-the-hood upgrades, while the HP MultiSeat Solution has been expanded to provide improved end user experience. A quick chat with Tad Bodeman, director of marketing for the Thin Client Solutions at HP, revealed HP’s motivation behind the enhancements and why partners should care:

The HP t5740e Thin Client has been designed to provide a “PC-like” experience as much as possible, Bodeman said, and it comes equipped with the following upgrades:

HP MultiSeat, which allows for a local server to host VMs to thin clients and zero-clients (which HP brands as Smart Clients) in a classroom-type situation, now comes equipped with:

Price tag on the new goods start at $529 for the basic version of the t5740e with the Broadcom adapter, and scales up to $949 for the quad-monitor-support version. The HP MultiSeat solution, which works with HP’s t100 and t150 thin clients, starts at $639.

“Adding the option for a Broadcom hardware accelerator chipset blows the socks off that [virtualization] experience,” said Bodeman, explaining that the acceleration hardware when coupled with the new support for dual- and quad-monitor support is a killer combo. “Resellers and channel partners continue to expand, and we’re steadily getting more demand for dual-quad monitor support in these environments.”

Bodeman noted that IDC data shows HP sells more Windows-based thin clients than the next five competitors combined, and two times the number of Linux thin clients every year than its nearest competitor, which gives HP reason to believes its virtualization strategy is solid. Even so, it’s good to know HP is listening to its partners’ feedback.

HP’s MultiSeat Solution, meanwhile, was developed jointly with Microsoft, and its updates are part of HP’s efforts to expand the use-case for the MultiSeat Solution, which is “… targeted at education and small-business customers,” Bodeman said. In developing the solution, HP worked to drive down the cost per seat to make it a more affordable option to these often cash-strapped verticals, he noted.

To support the new solutions, HP is adding the new product set into its monthly reseller partner sales training webinars and technical training webinars starting this summer, Bodeman said. Additionally, “A whole sales and technical tool kit [will be] delivered for these new products. It includes video, sales presentations — all of that good stuff — to get these partners selling quickly and solving problems.

“We’re absolutely continuing to be aggressive and invest to grow [virtualization] for our customers [and resellers],” Bodeman noted. “A big part of our strategy that has allowed us to be so successful [are] key partnerships: Citrix, Microsoft and VMware — we are [all] doing joint roadmap-planning and joint R&D and development.” Such coordinated development allows partners to offer a full end-to-end solution that leverages multiple technologies easily, he said.

If you’re interested in a deeper dive, check out HP’s thin computing and client virtualization portals.

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