HP Buys Neoware, Strengthening Their Thin Client Offering
Lost in the shuffle of Monday’s other major acquisition announcement by HP was the $214 million acquisition of Neoware. Neoware specializes in Linux-based thin clients and was a good fit for HP, which specializes in Windows XP Embedded- and Windows CE-based thin clients. Despite being the world’s biggest PC supplier, HP sees alternative computing models, which includes their thin client and blade PC teams within PSG, as a significant growth opportunity for enterprises. The move was made for three reasons:
- Reach. Neoware already has solid reach into large enterprise clients and, through these established relationships, has a deep understanding of customer needs around Linux.
- Software. Neoware has solid software products, like Neoware Device Manager and Neoware ezRemote Manager, which HP will add to their already robust enterprise-class software offerings.
Mobile. Neoware is already offering mobile thin clients, something HP didn’t yet have.
The combined forces of HP (No. 2 enterprise thin client supplier) and Neoware (No. 3 enterprise thin client supplier) don’t quite match the market leader, Wyse — but HP is confident that this acquisition will enable them to expand to new markets, like India and China.
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