HP strengthens its position as a benchmark in the workstation market with the Z range

With desktop platforms, mobile and virtual, HP has reinforced its strategic proposal in the workstation market with the Z range, where the manufacturer has shares of more than 50% in Spain and Europe, to respond in computing capacity, Graphic performance and reliability to every professional and environment.

Innovation and power define the portfolio of workstations that HP is available in the Spanish market, that are included in its Z range 'the DNA of its workstations', composed of all-in-one desktop models such as the Z840; laptops with the ultralight ZBook system, and virtual systems for collaborative environments that require centralized management.

As Marco Antonio Viejo has pointed out, responsible for the workstations area of ​​HP Spain, “We have a platform of workstations for every professional and need that has the Z ‘DNA’: greater capacity, durability and reliability to offer maximum performance and graphic speed”.

In the desktop Workstation Z environment, the Z400 family has been redesigned, with a more compact and transportable format, and the fifth generation of processors have been incorporated Intel Xeon ES v3 and the graphics nVIDIA Quadro y AMD FirePro, as well as the Thunderbolt connector for faster file transfer performance.

The new Z840 is added to this range, designed for high computing and visualization with dual processor, expandable chassis (up to seven expansion slots, ten bays, another sixteen to include memories and 2TB), and the Z640 model, a very quiet system for environments with space limitations.

Ultrabook format and collaborative environments

The novelties in portable workstations focus on the HP ZBook ultrabook format, with screen 14 and 15” and possibility of touch option with ten points, that equip Microsoft Windows 8.1, Intel Core processors and AMD Fire Pro 3D graphics.

In the virtual environment, HP has developed the DL380z Gen model 9 for collaborative work requiring centralized project management, with high computing capacity and graphics for virtual sessions of up to eight users. “We offer mobility, “Remote collaboration through virtual sessions and maximum security in the development of a project between professionals from anywhere”, underlines Old.

This system, with 2U rack mount, incorporates the latest professional graphics suite, such as nVIDIA Grid cards; Intel E5 v3 processors up to 36 cores (3,5 GHz), memory of 1,5 TB and Windows operating system and Linux Client.

ZDisplays Professional Monitors

The potential of the Z range does not only remain in the workstation segment, but the company has developed ZDisplay monitors (more details in Digital AV Magazine) that incorporate Dream Color technology, more screen sizes and ultra narrow bezel format so that professionals can work with multiple monitors as if it were a video wall.

As Old Man points out, “all ZDisplays have zero subpixel, that is to say, none defective, and all are delivered calibrated from the factory so that the visualization and color are optimal”. The company will soon present a curved ZDisplay in 34 inches to work in 4K and 5K.

HP's monitor portfolio focuses on the new Z27s and Z24s models, with ultra high definition (UHD) 4K, and on the 5K Z27q system, specially designed to increase productivity by expanding the visual workspace and connecting more devices, that the company showed at CES 2015.

Innovative tools

As Marco A points out. Viejo, “HP puts all the tools at its disposal with these systems and our customers bring innovation and creativity”, which has resulted in “that we are five years ahead of the PC world with our workstations”.

For this, The manufacturer has designed the Z range so that access to the internal elements is easy, without cables, with a modular structure and silent operation. “In our Total Test Process we carry out 115.000 hours of testing each team and we work closely with our partners and independent developers (ISV), as Avid, Adobe, Autodesk, etc. to integrate applications”.

Among these innovations, HP Z Turbo Drive stands out, to improve 4K graphics rendering and eliminate bottlenecks when handling large amounts of data with solid-state drives, “something we have solved by connecting the SSD via PCIe and thus doubling the access speed, and that soon we will double again”, assures this responsible.

The incorporation of Dream Color technology in the entire Z range and in the monitors is another of the manufacturer's innovations to provide color accuracy and coexistence in workflows, fruit of the collaboration with the producer Dreamworks, with which they offer more than a billion colors.

Another valuable tool available on these workstations is Performance Advisor, a tool that Marco A. Viejo defines himself as “a personal geek”, capable of improving application performance, detect problems and identify bottlenecks.

Added to this is Remote Graphics Software, a protocol that optimally delivers screen pixels for maximum graphics performance, but with low bandwidth consumption. “Thanks to this, a professional can present a project to a client from a tablet, but working remotely against your workstation”.

Growing market

With a market share of 62% in desktop workstation and above the 50% in the portable range, according to the data of IDC corresponding to the third quarter of 2014 in Spain and which remains in the accumulated of the year, The manufacturer not only remains a benchmark in this business segment at a national level, “But we have the best in Europe and we have been above 50% for fifteen years”, Old man points out.

Growth forecasts for this year are not far behind, mainly in the mobility environment, in which an increase of around 35%, “since the market increasingly demands more portable systems for their professional work, and we are doubling the sale of units”, compared to a moderate 6-8% of the desktop environment, “a smaller and very controlled market”.

The parameters that promote this growth are clear for the HP manager: “Any company that begins to innovate needs a Workstation”, to which he adds “the transition from the CAD environment to 3D, which will also favor the sale of workstations because it changes the way of working, with systems that offer greater graphic performance and computing power”.

A different issue is that of virtual workstations, of which there are still no introduction dates in the Spanish market “and their sale will be linked to the demand we have from customers, as with the curved monitor 34 inches", specifies Old.