HP’s acquisition of Poly reflects the growing need to provide high-quality experiences for all, regardless of location.
Not less than a week after the conclusion of the first in-person Enterprise Connect conference in more than two years, where the need to support hybrid work was a major theme, comes news that HP has announced an intent to buy Poly. The approximately-$3.3 billion deal instantly catapults HP to a market-leading position in the unified communications (UC) and video conferencing endpoint space thanks to Poly’s wide array of devices including desktop and USB phones, headsets, and personal and room-based video conferencing products as well as managed services.
HP is hardly a stranger to the UC space. As Ryan Daily noted in her earlier piece, HP’s current UC portfolio includes products such as the HP Presence line for personal video collaboration, as well as the Elite Slice G2 for conference rooms. HP has also partnered with Jabra to combine the Elite Slice G2 with Jabra PanaCast cameras and has resold Jabra headsets. HP also currently offers an Elite Slice bundle with the Logitech Brio camera. All of these partner offerings are likely to end assuming the Poly sale is approved by shareholders.
However, the acquisition of Poly allows HP to drastically expand its ability to support customers as they develop and implement hybrid work strategies. Metrigy’s Unified Communications and Collaboration Management and Endpoints 2021-22 global study of approximately 400 end-user organizations found that just 20.4% planned to bring employees back to the office on a full-time basis. For most companies, the age of hybrid and remote work is here to stay.
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