HP cans Centres of Excellence scheme
Partners dismayed by 'wasted investment' in valued initiative
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has dealt a devastating and costly blow to its Centres of Excellence channel partners by informing them that it has axed the scheme.
The scheme was launched with great fanfare three years ago, and partners spent thousands to obtain the right accreditation.
Last month CRN reported the scheme appeared to have been put on the back burner since the launch of HP's PartnerOne channel programme.
In a letter, sent last week, HP stated: "(The) current programme infrastructure that supports the Centres of Excellence will be transitioned into one membership programme, the HP Business Partner Programme.
"The Centres of Excellence as a designated standalone partner programme will therefore cease to exist."
Ian Brooks, managing director of reseller IB Business Development, who was on the Centres of Excellence Advisory Committee, said: "We had repeated assurances from HP that everything was OK, and then this letter arrives unexpectedly. We have spent time and money on the scheme and jumped through hoops for HP."
Brooks said he hopes the scheme will be revived because it was "the best in the industry". He said: "We all made the commitment, but HP bailed out and was not completely honest with us."
One VAR, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "HP has been very evasive and everybody is 100 per cent disappointed. It has cost us a lot of money.
"I would say it has been completely mismanaged."
Ziggy Staniaszek, managing director of VAR Ionet Systems, said: "So much was promised and a lot of partners are upset at the way it was announced."
But he added that partners should feel partly responsible, especially for their "apathy" towards the Technology Means Business accreditation.
"A lot of us are still committed to HP and I hope some lessons have been learned," he said.
Andy Vickers, director of the UK and Ireland solutions partner organisation at HP, said: "It made sense for HP to move Centres of Excellence into the Business Partner Programme to strengthen the overall offering. HP will continue to invest in our channel for our mutual benefit."