All notebooks are not created equal, according to Steve Gales, a senior manager at HP UK. For us, security is a top priority. This means designing notebooks that are more robust, easier to manage and more secure than competitors’ machines. Ultimately, though, good security is just good business. “For most customers, security is a real concern,” says Gales. “We can save our customers money by working closely with our customers and partners, such as Intel and Microsoft. It’s all about the right security features.”

Many HP notebooks feature professional innovations such as DriveLock disk encryption, an embedded TPM security chip, biometric fingerprint sensors and integrated smart card readers. HP’s $4 billion a year, three patents a day investment in research and development brings other benefits.

For example, there is HP’s Privacy Filter, which narrows the viewing angle of a notebook’s display to stop strangers reading what’s on the screen. Another neat gadget is Disk Sanitize, which securely erases data on a hard disk using an algorithm developed by the US military. It seems like a small thing until you have to recycle thousands of old computers, and you want to be sure that they are completely clean of confidential information.

Many companies see laptops as a necessary evil, according to Steve Gales. Users really want them and organisations need them to boost productivity, but managing notebooks costs more than managing desktops. “Our argument is that if you work with HP we’ll take a lot of the pain away,” says Gales. “Our products are designed to be as secure, robust and manageable. This means you can roll out laptops to as many people as need them.”