[ad#ad-1]About a week ago, HP invited us here at Booredatwork to come down to one of their main campuses in Houston Texas and see how their day to day operations work. We tend to forget that HP is still one of the titan tech companies in the industry today, thus seeing whether or not the company as a whole s shifted the necessary parts internally to compete was very intriguing. The facility in Houston Texas goes along with the mantra of the big southern state as it is a gigantic facility, or collection of facilities. There are departments dedicated for specific scenarios such as stress testing upcoming products, looking into telescope level issues plaguing current models in the marketplace, as well as spaces for hands on tool/part building (that ironically is still human and not done by just robots).
One of the more intriguing parts of the facility had to be its sounds room. Sounds rooms in themselves are pretty awesome looking setting aside the science behind them. In the photos provided, you’ll see triangular shaped walls made out of a Styrofoam like material that allows all noise to be condensed into a single place in order to measure the output levels of products. They had various rooms that ranged in small, medium, and large sizes in order to accommodate specific sets of product line. There were mic’s all over the room which were designated by markers on the ground to measure the exact pitch no matter the angle. All in all, consumers and tech enthusiasts alike shouldn’t forget that behind all of the amazing tech we use daily, there is more awesome and amazing tech necessary to make it all happen.
With companies like Google and Apple setting the standard for how tech companies should be ran internally, it was quite the surprise to see that HP basically was still running a traditional cubicle like infrastructure. There was a whole room dedicated to worker space that looked like something out of the movie The Office. It seemed outdated and reminiscent of a company being stuck in the old ways of business. This was just an observation as the HP staff itself is riddled with talent internally. Experts in each of their crafts ranging in the 20-30 year tenures at HP. HP is still leading in key markets of entertainment behind the scenes such as their critically acclaimed DreamWorks screen technology. Hollywood still depends on this tech to output the truest and realistic color reproduction for its films and as a result, HP is continuing to innovate in the 4k and higher resolution market.
Throughout my experience at the HP campus I walked away with one glaring perspective on the company. They have all the tools necessary in order to become a top name in the industry today. Talent, tools, and cash are still available for HP to utilize. It seems that the pace in which to put all the pieces together aren’t happening fast enough and that may prevent HP from becoming what it once was. However, the future is undoubtedly bright for HP and I can only hope that they see their full potential as a company going forward.
