SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) today announced five new return-to-work solutions that will help organizations accelerate business recovery and reopening plans in the wake of COVID-19. The new solutions, which will assist in controlling the spread of the virus and enabling business continuity, will be implemented and managed through HPE Pointnext Technology Services for a fast, seamless transition. These solutions will scale for businesses of all sizes using secure, high-performing HPE servers for the edge, Aruba AI-powered network infrastructure, and technologies from HPE’s rich ecosystem of partners.
HPE has been working closely with customers that have experienced disruption due to COVID-19 related shutdowns and has helped keep their businesses running by building or enhancing remote work capabilities. Examples include implementing improved, secure connectivity and VDI solutions to support a teleworking staff. Additionally, to help customers conserve capital and lower financial risk, HPE offered $2 billion in financing and new programs through HPE Financial Services. These offerings include deferred or reduced expenses, short-term rentals, and generating cash by converting existing, owned IT assets into capital that can be applied to purchase new, upgraded technology.
The five new return-to-work solutions HPE introduced today will address the next phase for customers who are anticipating at least a portion of their employees to safely return to their regular place of work in company facilities. HPE’s customers that have already begun implementing these solutions range from large international airports and global food processing and packaging plants, to retail stores and corporate offices.
These new solutions include social distance tracing and tracking, touchless entry, fever detection, augmented reality and visual remote guidance, and workplace alerts and information sharing.
“Since the COVID-19 outbreak, our customers have turned to HPE to help them adapt to unique challenges presented by the pandemic to maintain business continuity. We have been there for them throughout these difficult times, on everything from supporting a transition to a remote workforce with our comprehensive virtual desktop interface (VDI) solutions, to now helping them return back to work and to a new normal,” said Saadat Malik, vice president, IoT and Intelligent Edge Services, at HPE. “As businesses are reopening and returning employees onsite, our new robust solutions, featuring a range of HPE technologies and partner capabilities, are helping them make this transition safely while building on a highly differentiated, long term workplace digitization strategy.”
The five new return-to-work solutions will be deployed by HPE Pointnext Technology Services, which consists of diverse expertise and support for global scale, and brings together HPE’s extensive hardware and software capabilities with cutting edge offerings from a rich ecosystem of partners.
The new solutions will use HPE ProLiant servers, HPE EdgeLine Converged Edge Systems and Aruba AI-powered network infrastructure to power and process cameras and video analytics at the edge as well as enable location services. The solutions also leverage technologies from partners that provide intelligent surveillance and thermal cameras, and AI software for video analytics (Kognition, SAFR™ from RealNetworks, Venzo Secure). The return-to-work solutions offer customers the following benefits:
- Social distance tracing and tracking – Helping employers monitor and implement social distance guidelines. Use cases include alerting employees through Bluetooth-enabled devices if they are too close to one another for an extended period of time, or leveraging video analytics to determine face mask usage in required areas.
- Touchless entry – Using a hygienic approach for employees to securely and smoothly enter a location without touching door handles and other points of entry. The solution uses facial recognition for contactless access, multi-factor access-control and identity verification.
- Fever detection – Identifying individuals with elevated body temperatures using thermal cameras, machine learning and video analytics to proactively alert employees and staff to keep workers safe and reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
- Augmented reality & visual remote guidance – Allows on-site employees to collaborate effectively with remote employees to take on complex maintenance operations remotely. By offering digitized 3D visuals of a system or machine, a remote employee can identify a problem, such as a broken gas or water valve on a factory floor, to request necessary and timely repairs.
- Workplace alerts & information sharing – Helps employers share workplace information and push location-specific alerts to employees, using apps and dashboards. Employees gain real-time alerts, specific to their exact location in a building, on any changes or updates occurring onsite as companies transition to normal activity.
Expediting business recovery for any business of any size
ISA SpA, a manufacturer and supplier of commercial furnishings in Italy, has already implemented some of these solutions to monitor the proximity and duration of interaction between its workers and alert them with push notifications if they have come too close in contact with others. Details on the collaboration can be found here.
Addressing data privacy, security, and compliance requirements
HPE works closely with customers across the globe to help them understand the capabilities of the new return-to-work solutions, including how data is captured, transmitted, analyzed, and stored. Customers can then determine how they will handle their data based on relevant legal, regulatory, and company policies that govern privacy. HPE also offers its customers a rich set of services focused on helping them assess and mitigate security concerns related to deployment of IT solutions, including the return-to-work offerings.
Creating a more intelligent, safer workplace for customers
The introduction of the new return-to-work as a Service solutions are an extension to the HPE Intelligent Workplace offering. The offering helps customers enhance their environments in four key ways: boost employee productivity, attract and retain talent, reduce workplace costs, and now, keep employees safe and healthy to address challenges posed by COVID-19.
These offerings leverage HPE Pointnext Services, including advisory and professional services offerings to design and deploy the return-to-work solutions, and HPE GreenLake, an as-a-Service and pay-per-use subscription feature. HPE has been actively engaged with customers around the world to assess needs and implement the right solutions throughout the pandemic, from rapidly adapting to a remote workforce to transitioning back to work sites.
The HPE Intelligent Workplace offering is part of HPE’s IoT and Intelligent Edge Services organization, which is comprised of HPE’s Networking Services, Digital Workplace Services and IoT Services groups. IDC MarketScape recently named HPE to the “Leaders” category in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Digital Workspace Services 2020 Vendor Assessment1 for each of the areas these groups focus on: Network consulting services, Digital Workspace Services and Business and Industrial IoT Consulting Services.
The new return-to-work solutions will be available worldwide.
Additional resources
- HPE Here to Help: Business Continuity Solutions
- Blog: HPE recognized as a global leader in all three areas of Intelligent Edge Services
Register for free here to HPE Discover Virtual Event (DVE)
HPE will also showcase these new solutions with the following demo and deep-dive session at the HPE Discover Virtual Event (DVE)
- Session ID: B505 - From Crisis Management to Recovery: Enabling the Workplace of the Future (on demand)
- Demo ID: D249 – Secure Remote and Back-to-Work Solutions (on demand)
About Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global edge-to-cloud platform-as-a-service company that helps organizations accelerate outcomes by unlocking value from all of their data, everywhere. Built on decades of reimagining the future and innovating to advance the way we live and work, HPE delivers unique, open and intelligent technology solutions, with a consistent experience across all clouds and edges, to help customers develop new business models, engage in new ways, and increase operational performance. For more information, visit: www.hpe.com.
1 IDC recently named HPE to the “Leaders” category in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Digital Workspace Services 2020 Vendor Assessment (doc #US45407619, March 2020) for each of the areas these groups focus on: Network consulting services, Digital Workspace Services and Business and Industrial IoT Consulting Services.