This week at HP’s annual Amplify Conference in Nashville, industry leaders are gathering under the theme ‘Driving the Future Together’ to explore how AI is reshaping the future of work. HP unveiled more than 80 new products across its portfolio, making a bold statement about its direction in the AI era with solving real pain points and mass market appeal at the center of the strategy.

The Productivity Play: AI That Works for You

HP’s strategy has crystallized around one core mission: delivering tangible value to organizations by enhancing knowledge worker productivity. The urgency is clear—HP’s 2024 Work Relationship Index reports that only 28 percent of workers have a healthy relationship with work. Rather than chasing buzzwords, HP is focusing on eliminating friction in everyday workflows through practical AI implementation. While I am no fan of using personas, I understand HP’s desire to bring to life use cases that benefit from AI.

“HP is translating AI into meaningful experiences that drive growth and fulfillment,” said Enrique Lores, President and CEO at HP Inc. “We are shaping the future of work with game-changing AI innovations that seamlessly adapt to how people want to work.”

The new EliteBook 8 Series exemplifies this approach perfectly. Redesigned with mainstream enterprise users in mind, these machines deliver AI-powered productivity in a repairable and upgradeable package. With NPU options up to 50 TOPS, HP says that they offer up to 224% better power efficiency and up to 43 times faster AI image generation compared to previous non-NPU models. For overworked professionals drowning in administrative tasks, these performance gains translate to real hours and headaches saved.

HP is also supercharging its desktop lineup with the EliteDesk 8 Series, which brings AI powerfully and securely to corporate environments. This is the world’s first business desktop PC portfolio to protect against quantum computer hacks, combining high performance with lower power consumption.

Among the interesting demos I saw there was the AI Companion —an advanced on-device AI research assistant that delivers instant answers and secured file analysis, even without internet connectivity. New features planned for this Spring include intuitive voice and text commands and built-in keylogger protections. Unlike competitors’ solutions that require constant cloud access, HP’s approach keeps sensitive data secure while still delivering powerful AI capabilities.

Better Together

My second key takeaway is how HP is finally executing on the “better together” story that tech companies often promise but rarely deliver. The integration of Poly camera technology into their ecosystem creates a seamless laptop-to-meeting-room experience that actually works. This is particularly important given the current state of workplace technology—according to data shared at the conference, two-thirds of employees report experiencing friction when using digital technologies, and only half say they feel fully supported by their IT service desk. Employees are struggling with an explosion of new devices and services, and IT teams simply can’t keep up.

The HP EliteStudio 8 AiO G1i demonstrates this philosophy brilliantly. As the world’s first commercial PC with integrated KVM ability through HP Device Switch, it allows employees to use the all-in-one for work or quickly plug their laptop into the AIO with a single cable to power the notebook and access all peripherals. This significantly reduces the friction of moving between workspaces—a daily pain point for hybrid workers.

The Poly Camera Pro updates further enhance this cohesive experience with AI-powered features like Magic Background, seamless streaming integrations, and presenter overlays. Multi-camera support, customizable aesthetics, and auto-framing transforms any workspace into a professional studio experience. These aren’t just flashy demos—they’re practical tools that address real collaboration challenges.

HP Go further strengthens this ecosystem by delivering seamless global connectivity for highly mobile professionals. With automatic network switching regardless of carrier, advanced fleet management, and effortless setup, road warriors can connect and be productive wherever work takes them. The HP Go service option will first be available on the HP EliteBook 6 G1q powered by Snapdragon X Series, making it the world’s first AI PC with zero-touch multi-carrier 5G deployment. I have been a strong proponent of cellular connectivity in PCs for many years. While the technology offers significant advantages in security and productivity, many businesses have hesitated due to the additional costs and complicated service activation process. As AI drives greater demand for always-connected computing, HP’s strategy to simplify out-of-the-box connectivity deployment represents a smart move that addresses these longstanding barriers for enterprises.

Playing the Long Game: Beyond the Refresh Cycle

While it is tempting to capitalize on the 2025 Windows refresh cycle, my final observation is that HP is taking a more strategic, long-term view of the PC market. Rather than just pushing hardware upgrades, they’re building an ecosystem designed to deliver sustained value.

The HP Workforce Experience Platform (WXP) enhancements clearly signal this direction, and the company is making significant investments in this area.

The numbers are compelling: WXP has already grown to 680,000+ connected devices and leverages intelligence from HP’s vast global data ecosystem. Their AI models learn from telemetry data across 24 million endpoints, processing 700GB of new data daily into a massive 4-petabyte intelligence engine. Every month, HP’s software and services remediate over 11 million IT issues—keeping employees productive and IT teams focused on strategic initiatives.

The new AI Sentiment Analysis can now process thousands of free text survey responses to uncover recurring themes, while the AI-powered Fleet Explorer uses natural language processing to let IT managers query fleet data instantly. These tools provide IT departments with powerful capabilities to improve employee experience through data-driven insights. By creating solutions that solve organizational challenges beyond device performance, HP is positioning itself as a strategic partner rather than simply a hardware vendor.

Even HP’s printer innovations reflect this long-term thinking. The HP LaserJet Enterprise 8000 Series Printers—the first to protect against quantum computer attacks—demonstrate security foresight that extends well beyond current threats.

Channel Partner Opportunities

One aspect that shouldn’t be overlooked is how HP is enabling its channel partners to transition to services-centric businesses. The company is positioning WXP as an easy entry point for partners to get into the Digital Employee Experience (DEX) space without massive upfront investments. This strategy allows partners to diversify into new businesses and acquire new customers, moving to a contractual, services-centric business model that delivers recurring revenue.

A More Convincing HP

After seeing HP’s comprehensive approach at Amplify 2025, it’s clear the company understands that AI is a means to an end, not the end itself. By focusing on making knowledge workers more productive, creating seamless technology experiences, and taking a pragmatic, long-term approach to AI implementation, HP is positioning itself for sustained relevance in an increasingly AI-driven world.

For organizations planning their technology roadmaps, HP’s vision offers a compelling alternative to the “AI for AI’s sake” approach that dominates many tech conversations today. What I find most convincing is how HP is acknowledging the real problems that exist in today’s workplace—burnout, technology friction, and IT overload—and building solutions that address these fundamental challenges. The real question now is how quickly they can execute on this vision and bring these solutions to market at scale.

Join the newsletter and stay up to date