HP Unveils Home Program, It's Now Time For Next Step

At last week's CEDIA Expo in Denver, HP introduced the program and appointed Doug Roberts as its channel marketing director. The program, which includes a dedicated call center and specialized training, will mainly focus on pushing HP's Digital Entertainment Centers (DECs), including the two new z565 and z560, as well as its MediaSmart LCD and other televisions, through the CEDIA channel. Although that channel is slowly expanding to include more network-centric integrators coming over from the IT commercial side, it still consists mainly of high-end custom installers and system integrators targeting the limited luxury home market.

That's all well and good, and the program is something we've been urging HP to develop for well over a year. But it's still not enough. We realize HP has taken a purposefully cautious route to the home, but during that wait the company has let revenue, for itself and its many partners, float out the window.

One of the most interesting parts of the announcement is that HP also wants to drive many of its other products - - from notebooks to printers to cameras to storage devices " through the CEDIA channel. To sell more products as a part of a full home solution, gain market share and further spread the concept of the digitally-connected home and home office, HP has to aggressively market the new program to its army of IT solution provider partners.

Many of them are already integrating digital entertainment and home office networks in the home and working with home builders. They are looking for a vendor to provide as much of a full solution as makes sense. Many of them don't belong to CEDIA (although they should) and aren't familiar with this and the other programs that are being launched through the organization. As the number of home networks continues to grow, consumer demand for more integrated products also increases. No vendor is better suited than HP to provide those solutions to integrators.

Not only does HP have the product and the partners, it also has an exclusive relationship with Exceptional Innovation, the developer of Life|ware, a Windows XP based home control and automation platform that is steadily gaining mindshare among CEDIA members, the majority of which focus on proprietary control platforms that are much more expensive and difficult to program. Exceptional just launched an improved software package and plans to ship its servers and touch panel controllers in December. The company could greatly benefit from the networking expertise and customer reach of HP's IT solution provider channel.

During the early stages of the program, Blakborn said he, Roberts and Exceptional will primarily work with a few key CEDIA members and form relationships with builders. We applaud that small step. It's time for a much bigger step.