HP bundle deal baffles channel

Hewlett Packard has confused the channel by deciding to bundle Computer Associates? Unicenter TNG Framework enterprise management system with its own Open View system.

All HP servers and workstations will run TNG Framework despite direct competition with Open View.

One reseller claimed: ?It is a marketing ploy put together by the hardware side of the vendor without the software side?s knowledge. A lot of other manufacturers are bundling TNG Framework, so this amounts to strategic marketing.?

Jonathan Chapple, chairman of Equanet, said: ?Of course it is a competitive clash, and HP is a minority player when it comes to software in the corporate big league. As a minor player, it is going to have to work pretty hard to woo people away from the original product.?

He also suggested HP will need help from its corporate account team to sell TNG Framework.