To present a me-too offering in the growing market of BYOD contributions for Enterprises, HP has announced a March 2014 unveiling of the HP Access Catalog.
The HP Access Catalog is an on-demand mobile content catalog. IT workers can make business applications available in the catalog and then enable self-service installations of applications and digital content for mobile devices and desktops/laptops. HP suggests the new service will help transform the way Enterprises deliver services, however, there are many, many vendors who have been entrenched in the BYOD application movement for several years. And, unfortunately, some of HP's recent customer support practices have many businesses considering moving away from using the company.
What's different about HP's offering? Not much. As with many of the other industry offerings, HP's catalog supplies a secure, private app store where end-users can browse, search and install applications. HP Access Catalog currently only supports Android and iOS, however those two platforms comprise the bulk of employed devices, garnering close to 94 percent of the market.
Can HP sneak into an already crowded BYOD app store market? It's tough to say, but should provide some interest and drama as the technology unfolds, particularly with customers already shying away from the company over support issues.
Dragan Milanovich, vice president of Web Services and Software at HP, says…
"As organizations embrace mobility, they need a simple, secure and reliable mechanism to manage the delivery of apps to their employees. The HP Access Catalog provides enterprises with a robust, flexible and easy-to-use solution, making it easier for users to be productive on their device of choice."
HP offers a trial sign-up page, but even the trial won't open until the unveiling in March. You can still sign-up, but don't expect much. I signed-up and have still yet to receive even an email confirmation.
Sign up here: HP Access Catalog trial
