HP Warning Shot for Thinkstations

[El_Capitan]

This is an open letter to Lenovo:

Greetings,

I have been a Lenovo customer and supporter for many years.  The quality of hardware and support of the Think line of computers has consistently impressed me.  Time and time again each new Thinkpad and Thinkstation computer has met my needs and exceeded my expectations.  Lenovo has been my first stop for all my computing needs, both professional and personal.

However, times have changed.   While the quality of Lenovo's computers has not fallen, it has not progressed at the same rate as its competitors.  I am a digital media professional and it has become apparent to me that Lenovo does not hold the top rank in this field any longer.  Over the past year I have seen HP innovate with new products and excel in hardware design, which Lenovo does not match.  The lack of a powerful 17 inch Thinkpad mobile workstation puts Lenovo at a considerable disadvantage when compared to HP.  The loss of the W700 series was the first disappointment I had with the Thinkpad line.  More worrisome than the mobile workstation market, however, is the disparity between Lenovo's Thinkstations and HP's desktop workstations.  While Thinkstation desktops may match the competitors in terms of listed specs, the innovation that HP has shown is remarkable, and makes Lenovo seem static.  The new All-In-One Z1 from HP and their specific design of a workstation for RED Digital Cinema's workflow in cooperation with Adobe has showcased their desire to innovate and bring professionals new capabilities.  To a lesser degree, Lenovo's lack of true professional video displays is also disappointing. This outstanding innovation by HP has really shown the amount of effort and emphasis they are putting forward for the professional market.  

I still hold to Lenovo, but if this slower rate of innovation continues, many will go to other solutions.  It would be wonderful to see Lenovo match the competition, and I am still hopeful that Lenovo will rise to the challenge.  But this industry moves quickly, and Lenovo will have to act rapidly if they wish to retain the respect and reputation they have built over the past years.  

Sincerely,
A concerned customer 

[psuturtle Lenovo Staff · Accepted solution]

While I can't comment on the Thinkpad side of the workstation discussion, I will say don't lose faith on the ThinkStation side when it comes to innovation.  You are not alone in several of  your observations, and rest assured change is coming. 

From the Thinkstation perspective, one thing to realize is we're still growing.  We really only started this business 4 years ago, and did so from scratch.  We started out slow, had a pretty good uptick, and then sort of hit a stall when the economy went downhill.  So it's always a battle to get the corporation to invest in R&D for a young business unit, especially if the results aren't strong.  All that being said, we've been making significant progress, and with that progress will come change.  Just don't expect it overnight (which is understandable given where we are in the product cycle).  For customers that have been with us from the beginning, we certainly appear stagnant in certain areas.  But as the majority of our user base is relatively new, you can see how it can all change based on perspective.

Again, I obviously can't get into details or specifics, but we've already been working to address concerns like this and others.

[jdeb]

HP may be ahead on new features but they do not have the stability and reliability of Lenovo Products.