Computer companies are beginning to understand that big business is not the only type of business they should try to reach. Small business may not need as many computers, but they are an important niche too. Besides the age-old Microsoft vs. Mac argument, HP and Apple offer small business-friendly services to help drive your dollars toward their products.
HP’s Elite series of products–to date targeted primarily at large corporate customers–are now being pitched aggressively to small business, which Hutcheson describes as an unmanaged IT environment with less than 500 seats.
Part of that pitch is convincing small businesses to buy HP’s EliteBook laptops, such as the rugged, 4-pound EliteBook 2560p that is equipped with Intel’s latest high-performance Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 processors. The 2560p is designed to meet rigorous military standards (MIL-STD-810G) for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude, and high temperature.
But good hardware is just a start. EliteBooks (such as the 8460p and 8560p) also offer a standard three-year warranty on many models–not the standard one year–with U.S.-based support manned by certified technicians, according to Hutcheson.
So, what about Apple? For a small business purchasing, for example, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs, Apple offers JointVenture. (Like HP’s EliteBooks, all Apple MacBooks are sturdy and built for speed: they’re made of aluminum and pack Intel’s Sandy Bridge chips.)
And it’s transparent. Pricing is up front: $499 per year for the first five systems–which includes iPhones and iPads–and $99 for each additional system.
Customers can speak to an Apple Genius over the phone (which typically isn’t possible). Geniuses are there, of course, to help solve computer problems. Apple will also run system diagnostics, update software, and loan out computers when a computer is sent in for repairs.
Photo by israel avila