HP courted Apple, now in talks with Google for 'Enterprise Siri' to boost corporate sales

Posted:
in iPhone edited August 2014
As it looks to rebound after years of slumping performance, old-guard Silicon Valley firm Hewlett-Packard reportedly held talks with relative newcomers Apple and Google in recent months to create a new type of "Enterprise Siri" system that would allow its corporate customers to search their document and data troves using their voice.




While talks with Google continue to plod along, Apple is said to have broken off discussions --?which were to include a "broader partnership" -- following the consummation of its landmark enterprise agreement with HP archrival IBM. Word of the negotiations was reported by Amir Efrati and Jessica Lessin of The Information.

Google is looking to expand the reach of Google Now, its own voice-activated search system. The company has faced unsure footing as it pitches enterprise clients thanks to Google Now's lack of integration with third-party systems, something HP might be able to help with.

HP, meanwhile, has also sought Google's help in building enterprise-friendly mobile phones based on Android. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is said to have pitched an enterprise-focused "Nexus" handset and new, military-specification encryption hardware but was rebuffed by former Android boss Andy Rubin.

With no agreement in place with either Apple or Google, HP is believed to have turned to longtime partner Microsoft for help in building its new voice search product. The companies will likely look to integrate voice recognition technology from Nuance, which also powers Siri, and data warehousing and management solutions from HP units Vertica and Autonomy.

HP and Apple share a long history together. Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs was given a summer internship as a teenager by legendary HP cofounder Bill Hewlett, and Apple's new "spaceship" headquarters will sit on land that previously served as HP's corporate campus.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member

    I remember when HP was considered one of the very best places to work in Silicon Valley.  Their managers practiced "management by walking around," they had great benefits, they had one of the first campus-like headquarters, and all that.

     

    But no, I never heard of any super-good HP products.  Aside from their RPN calculators and scientific / medical equipment.  Their software just never made much of an impression, and apparently that's still true.

  • Reply 2 of 21
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    From last month, an article on HP and MS expanding their working partnership to business mobility solutions.
    http://www.crn.com/news/mobility/300073401/hp-launches-new-unit-teams-with-microsoft-intel-on-business-mobility.htm
  • Reply 3 of 21
    snovasnova Posts: 1,281member

    Someone at HP wants to give the search giant, Google, access to all HP enterprise level documents? What well thought out plan!

  • Reply 4 of 21
    HP had first rights to sell the Apple I because Woz was a HP employee at the time he made it. They passed on it. The rest is history.
  • Reply 5 of 21
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Have any here actually tried to solve a problem using their web site? It's a real shame.

  • Reply 6 of 21
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

     

    Have any here actually tried to solve a problem using their web site? It's a real shame.


    Not even trying to solve a problem, but just find information. It's horrid.

  • Reply 7 of 21
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post

     

    I remember when HP was considered one of the very best places to work in Silicon Valley.  Their managers practiced "management by walking around," they had great benefits, they had one of the first campus-like headquarters, and all that.

     

    But no, I never heard of any super-good HP products.  Aside from their RPN calculators and scientific / medical equipment.  Their software just never made much of an impression, and apparently that's still true.


     

    I think there is something that happens to a company when it decides to court enterprises. They get very entrenched making these monolithic, convoluted solutions to what are essentially very boring, though necessary, problems. You have to maintain insane levels of backwards compatibility to what may have been bad ideas at the time (or at least proven to be later) and any drastic changes to architecture, support or even simple features risk alienating you customers and losing revenue. So basically you stick with what works and don't venture too far from that formula. 

     

    When you are a company like HP it's very hard to set aside the R&D to do something different because you don't have anyone that thinks like that in the company, your current customers aren't asking for it and breaking into new markets is a moonshot that nobody on the board wants to risk. HP had an great opportunity with Palm, but got motion sickness on the first go-round and couldn't stomach the risk so they bailed.

     

    When a company does that over and over again they have a hard time attracting talent, customers become weary of adopting first versions of new tech and the cycle repeats. If a guy has a choice between making 120K a year fidgeting with enterprise databases or 120K a year doing something cool and innovative, he's going to go where he's comfortable and until HP (and others like them) change their image they will just be nuts and bots, interchangeable, enterprise hardware and software guys.

  • Reply 8 of 21
    macbook promacbook pro Posts: 1,605member
    sockrolid wrote: »
    I remember when HP was considered one of the very best places to work in Silicon Valley.  Their managers practiced "management by walking around," they had great benefits, they had one of the first campus-like headquarters, and all that.

    But no, I never heard of any super-good HP products.  Aside from their RPN calculators and scientific / medical equipment.  Their software just never made much of an impression, and apparently that's still true.

    I have a HP copy/fax/printer/scanner which is surprisingly remarkable.

    For purely sentimental reasons I miss The Shark Tank (aka "San Jose Arena") being known as HP Pavilion (the name for which San Jose Arena was known for nearly a decade).


    I think there is something that happens to a company when it decides to court enterprises. They get very entrenched making these monolithic, convoluted solutions to what are essentially very boring, though necessary, problems. You have to maintain insane levels of backwards compatibility to what may have been bad ideas at the time (or at least proven to be later) and any drastic changes to architecture, support or even simple features risk alienating you customers and losing revenue. So basically you stick with what works and don't venture too far from that formula. 

    When you are a company like HP it's very hard to set aside the R&D to do something different because you don't have anyone that thinks like that in the company, your current customers aren't asking for it and breaking into new markets is a moonshot that nobody on the board wants to risk. HP had an great opportunity with Palm, but got motion sickness on the first go-round and couldn't stomach the risk so they bailed.

    When a company does that over and over again they have a hard time attracting talent, customers become weary of adopting first versions of new tech and the cycle repeats. If a guy has a choice between making 120K a year fidgeting with enterprise databases or 120K a year doing something cool and innovative, he's going to go where he's comfortable and until HP (and others like them) change their image they will just be nuts and bots, interchangeable, enterprise hardware and software guys.


    HP had some exciting spinoffs in the medical field but those products have since (apparently) been ruined by the new owners.


    Few people were as excited as I when HP had the vision to purchase Palm and began to tout WebOS as a distinct advantage they would leverage. Alas ...
  • Reply 9 of 21
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post



    From last month, an article on HP and MS expanding their working partnership to business mobility solutions.

    http://www.crn.com/news/mobility/300073401/hp-launches-new-unit-teams-with-microsoft-intel-on-business-mobility.htm

    It's a lot easier to "talk a good story," i.e., "consulting," than it is to design and build great category leading products. That's what IBM and now HP are doing. Consultants are brought in when executive management can't cut it... IMHO

  • Reply 10 of 21
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Eric Swinson View Post

     

     

    I think there is something that happens to a company when it decides to court enterprises. They get very entrenched making these monolithic, convoluted solutions to what are essentially very boring, though necessary, problems. You have to maintain insane levels of backwards compatibility to what may have been bad ideas at the time (or at least proven to be later) and any drastic changes to architecture, support or even simple features risk alienating you customers and losing revenue. So basically you stick with what works and don't venture too far from that formula. 

     

    When you are a company like HP it's very hard to set aside the R&D to do something different because you don't have anyone that thinks like that in the company, your current customers aren't asking for it and breaking into new markets is a moonshot that nobody on the board wants to risk. HP had an great opportunity with Palm, but got motion sickness on the first go-round and couldn't stomach the risk so they bailed.

     

    When a company does that over and over again they have a hard time attracting talent, customers become weary of adopting first versions of new tech and the cycle repeats. If a guy has a choice between making 120K a year fidgeting with enterprise databases or 120K a year doing something cool and innovative, he's going to go where he's comfortable and until HP (and others like them) change their image they will just be nuts and bots, interchangeable, enterprise hardware and software guys.


    Seems to me like you just listed both ends of the extremes:  Companies that "maintain insane levels of backwards compatibility" and companies that end support for things at the drop of a hat.

  • Reply 11 of 21
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacBook Pro View Post



    For purely sentimental reasons I miss The Shark Tank (aka "San Jose Arena") being known as HP Pavilion

     

    The most clever name for an arena EVER.

     

    Okay, the ONLY clever name for an arena, ever.

  • Reply 12 of 21
    gumbigumbi Posts: 148member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    With no agreement in place with either Apple or Google, HP is believed to have turned to longtime partner Microsoft for help in building its new voice search product. The companies will likely look to integrate voice recognition technology from Nuance, which also powers Siri, and data warehousing and management solutions from HP units Vertica and Autonomy.

     

    I find it highly unlikely that MS would look to Nuance for voice recognition - since they have their own solution.

  • Reply 13 of 21
    Sorry HP, IBM is a better fit. They have Watson and no Windows PCs.
  • Reply 14 of 21
    Their Scientific Spin-Off, Agilent Technologies is still top dog.

    http://www.agilent.com/cs/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=Sapphire/Page/HomePage
  • Reply 15 of 21
    Sorry HP, IBM is a better fit. They have Watson and no Windows PCs.

    IBM is the better coupling in this partnership, hands down.
  • Reply 16 of 21
    Have any here actually tried to solve a problem using their web site? It's a real shame.

    The whole site needs an overhaul, doesn't it? Maybe they should say goodbye to Huddler.
  • Reply 17 of 21
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    While talks with Google continue to plod along, Apple is said to have broken off discussions -- which were to include a "broader partnership" -- following the consummation of its landmark enterprise agreement with HP archrival IBM.

     

    Apple + IBM to HP: "Cool idea! We'll include it as one of the many useful features in our pending joint venture.  Now scoot along!"

  • Reply 18 of 21
    Samsung products are junk, especially the power supplies. Apple has shown some wisdom not to have anything to do with a company that sells junk.
  • Reply 19 of 21
    singularitysingularity Posts: 1,328member
    aussiepaul wrote: »
    Samsung products are junk, especially the power supplies. Apple has shown some wisdom not to have anything to do with a company that sells junk.
    You need to see how much Apple sources from Samsung. that's a lot of junk they seem to putting into their products then
  • Reply 20 of 21
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by singularity View Post

    You need to see how much Apple sources from Samsung. that's a lot of junk they seem to putting into their products then

     

    So are you really confused about this or are you purposely being obtuse?

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