HP throws SME ProCurve ball
Vendor's networking business vies for bigger share of SME market
ProCurve, Hewlett-Packard's (HP's) networking business, is stepping up its sales push in response to increasing competition from enterprise rival Cisco and SME vendors such as Linksys, D-Link and NetGear.
"ProCurve's SME market starts at above 20 nodes - above the consumer and small office/home office markets," said Jon Weatherall, UK and Ireland country manager at ProCurve. "For us, SME goes quite high: up to 1,000 seats."
Weatherall cited benefits such as free software updates, lifetime warranties and 70 per cent of calls to the firm's critical support lines rated as 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied'. The firm has also recruited 250 resellers since February 2004.
"HP has positioned itself well in the commercial market, with about 250 seats. If ProCurve wants to move downward, its range will have to be wider, and encompass things such as Digital Subscriber Line routers and wireless," said Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at EuroLan. "(SME vendor) Belkin seems to be taking market share through unconventional channels. Perhaps ProCurve should acquire."