General Magic (2018)
On the surface, this is the story of a spectacular failure. Spun out of Apple in 1990, General Magic was a secretive startup with a dream team of engineers tasked with creating the worlds first smartphone. They were brilliant, they were funded, and they were a decade
too early. The company burned out, but its ideas and its people went on to create the modern tech landscape, including the iPhone, Android, and eBay. For an HPE fan, this is a vital lesson in timing, vision, and the long arc of innovation. It proves that the DNA of a failed project can become the building blocks for future empires, a concept familiar to any large, evolving tech company with a storied past.
Something Ventured (2011)
Hewlett-Packard itself was the original garage startup, but how did that become the dominant model for technological progress? This documentary answers that question by profiling the small group of risk-takers who created the venture capital industry. These are the financiers who backed legendary companies like Apple, Intel, Cisco, and Atari, providing not just money but strategic guidance. The film explains the mindset that built Silicon Valley from the ground up. For anyone who appreciates HPEs position in the enterprise ecosystem, this is the origin story of the entire system—a fascinating look at how capital, vision, and engineering came together to create the world we live in.
AlphaGo (2017)
HPE is betting big on artificial intelligence as the future of enterprise. But to many, AI is still an abstract concept. "AlphaGo" makes it thrillingly concrete. The documentary follows the Google DeepMind team as they prepare their AI program to challenge the world champion of Go, an ancient and notoriously complex board game. The showdown between man and machine is a surprisingly emotional and deeply philosophical drama. It’s not about rote calculation; it’s about creativity and intuition, showcasing a move so unexpected it was initially seen as a mistake. This film provides a perfect, high-stakes introduction to why AI is so much more than just a buzzword and what its creative potential could mean for business.
Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016)
If HPE provides the plumbing of the digital world—the servers, the networks, the storage—then this film by the legendary director Werner Herzog is a meditation on the house that plumbing built. Herzog explores the promises and perils of our hyper-connected society, from the origins of the internet to the frontiers of AI and robotics. The film features interviews with tech pioneers and explores both the utopian possibilities and dystopian fears associated with technology. It’s a step back from the specific hardware and business strategy to ask bigger questions about what it all means. For the HPE fan, it provides a powerful, philosophical context for the daily work of building and maintaining our digital infrastructure.
Triumph of the Nerds (1996)
To understand the world of enterprise IT, it helps to understand the chaotic birth of the personal computer. This classic three-part series is a deeply engaging history of the rise of Apple, Microsoft, and the PC revolution that defined the 80s and 90s. While not directly about HP's enterprise journey, it perfectly captures the culture of competition, the rivalries, and the accidental discoveries that shaped the entire industry. It explains how scrappy startups took on giants like IBM and won, setting the stage for the tech landscape HPE navigates today. It's a foundational text for understanding the ambition and personality that drove the first wave of digital disruption.
