HP To Launch New SMB Strategy

HP Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina was scheduled to attend the event to announce a new SMB strategy, which will cover new printers, PCs and a help desk for customers, but her private jet was forced to turn back because of the storm. She instead addressed the gathering of press and HP executives via video. In a joking reference to the California recall election, she said that while the plane was in the air she "tried to appeal the decision but was overridden by the pilot."

Fiorina applauded the Small Business Administration for its work and called Smart Office "a comprehensive and sustained effort to offer more for small and medium businesses wherever and whenever they want to work."

President Bush also was scheduled to attend the festivities in the morning but last night left town for Camp David as the hurricane bore down on the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, according to network televison reports.

Meanwhile, solution providers are watching the event closely to see what role they will play in the new SMB strategy and what, if any, competition they will face from HP's direct-sales team. HP's channel executives did not return phone calls from reporters seeking comments on the new strategy.