Expanded HP DaaS Managed Service Launches, But Only Direct for Now

HP is expanding its device-as-a-service offering with HP DaaS+ Hybrid. The IT giant is gearing the offer to customers with distributed workforces. The new managed service, introduced on Tuesday, is available immediately but sold and delivered only directly from HP.

HP launched its original DaaS offering in 2016 to provide customers with an opex alternative to PC procurement. The new HP DaaS+ Hybrid is a managed service optimized for the increasing number of customers with remote workforces. Channel partners can offer the service “sometime in 2023,” though HP did not elaborate.

Last year, organizations accommodating hybrid work environments grew 38%, according to HP, citing Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trends Index. Sumeer Chandra, general manager and global head of HP’s personal systems services business, said the new offering is more customizable.

HP’s Sumeer Chandra

“We have designed a robust managed services framework powered by data insights and automation that offers customers solutions they can customize to meet their specific business outcomes,” Chandra noted in the announcement.

During a brief pre-recorded briefing for media, Chandra added: “With employees working from home, there is now a compelling need to take a holistic view of the digital workplace and manage it in a way that optimizes device performance and experience, regardless of their location.”

3 Core Services

HP DaaS+ Hybrid consists of three components. First is the shipping of PCs to employees’ homes, configured for their work environments. Second, it includes HP’s Proactive Insights Experience Management Service.

“This service improves employee experience using telemetry, insights and automation to optimize the performance of devices, applications and networks,” Chandra said.

HP will provide telemetry and management services for its PCs and non-HP computers. But the home delivery and PC exchange are only for HP hardware.

The third component is that HP DaaS+ Hybrid is a modular service for different business requirements.

“HP DaaS+ Hybrid streamlines IT remote operations through cloud-based automation, insights and alerts that provide IT or HP service experts with deep visibility into hardware and application performance,” Chandra said. “This allows the administrators to initiate important actions, respond proactively to critical alerts, and coordinate support to help optimize fleet performance regardless of where the devices are located.”

HP can also use telemetry to provide contextual sentiment analysis, which Chandra said can help optimize the user experience. Using the telemetry, users can highlight and prioritize performance improvements, he said.

The new service also offers a unified services portal and “enterprise-grade ITSM integration,” Chandra said.

“We’re doubling down on operational excellence through [with] IT practices that are supported by experts in ITIL,” he added.

The offering is for PCs, though customers can add printers and print services, according to a company spokesperson. It doesn’t include any hardware from Poly, which HP recently acquired.

Security Services

While HP added security services to HP DaaS in 2019, Chandra said the new offering delivers a more modern approach. However, HP is not offering Aon’s Cyber Quotient Evaluation (CyQu), an online assessment tool previously announced for HP DaaS.

“With DaaS+ Hybrid, our service experts can monitor an organization’s device security posture from anywhere and help keep devices compliant and up to date,” Chandra said.

He noted that HP also offers added endpoint security that starts at the hardware level and extends across software and services.