HP to Push Training Scheme Via Channel

Vendor?s plan to give dealers and distributors responsibility for selling its training courses meets with mixed response

Hewlett Packard has overhauled its educational services programme, selling its training courses through the channel for the first time.

The manufacturer generated a turnover of about $10 million last year providing the training to customers direct. Initially dealers and distributors will be used to sell courses on to customers and claim commission, but HP is considering extending its education scheme to build up a network of training centres, allowing dealers and distributors to provide training in its products.

After a pilot scheme involving direct Vars Morse Data, Compel and Hamilton Rentals and distributors PSL and Ingram Micro, HP has rolled out its IT training programme to the rest of its Vars.

Under the scheme, Vars receive a commission if they sell a scheduled HP training course or a bespoke course that can be run from the dealer?s or customer?s premises. HP?s recently appointed channel business manager for educational services, Rebecca Furr, said the target for training revenues through the channel amounted to four to six per cent of the total amount spent on HP hardware.

Furr declined to give the margin figure on a typical training course, which costs the customer around #1,300, but said there would be a ?level playing field? and the margin level was not dependent on the volume of training that was sold.

Channel opinion of the scheme is divided. Simon Derry, sales manager at Ingram Micro, said it was a chance to expand existing training services, and position Ingram as a distributor of skills as well as products. But James Waller, divisional director at Morse Data, said his firm was not a training specialist and would be looking to HP to provide educational support.