Marriott TelePresence: Cisco Checks In, HP Halo Checks Out?

When Marriott International announced plans to embrace AT&T/Cisco TelePresence in hotels worldwide, The VAR Guy couldn’t help but wonder: Did an older Marriott relationship — involving HP Halo telepresence — get unplugged?

As you may recall, Cisco declared war on Hewlett-Packard during the Cisco Partner Summit 2009 in Boston. Now, that networking and server war is spilling over into the TelePresence market. Here are some quick observations…

Cisco’s Current Victory

On June 30, 2009, Marriott International announced plans to:

Impressive. The move proves that TelePresence is reaching its tipping point, and managed video services are a fast-growing opportunity for VARs and managed service providers.

HP’s Previous Victory

But wait. Something’s amiss. The VAR Guy seems to remember Marriott testing Hewlett-Packard’s Halo telepresence solutions. Rewind to March 18, 2008 and you’ll discover an HP press release stating:

Reality Check, Please

So, did Marriott have a change of heart — moving from HP Halo to Cisco TelePresence? Or is Marriott offering a mix of TelePresence systems to hotel guests? The VAR Guy has dispatched emails to Cisco, HP and Marriott for comment.

In the meantime, The VAR Guy’s best guess: Even if Marriott leverages HP Halo in some instances, it sounds like the Cisco/AT&T alternative will gain critical mass within Marriott. But HP does continue to gain momentum with its own Halo efforts.

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