HP vows to avoid complacency with server VARs

Infrastructure channel chief pledges to "earn the right" to work with partners and offers rewards for cross-selling

Branching out: Partners can earn more by selling multiple strands of HP's portfolio

HP's UK server channel chief is bullish about the vendor's position in the market and has pledged to "earn the right" to work with infrastructure partners.

Much has been made of Cisco's entry into the server space with the launch of its Unified Computing System (UCS) last year. The fallout from that, coupled with HP's increased focus on its ProCurve networking business, has seen the two vendors' previously cordial relationship disintegrate. This culminated in HP being thrown out of Cisco's partner programme last month.

But HP's UK channel manager for Enterprise Storage, Servers and Networking (ESSN) Kevin Matthews is unruffled by the market's new entrant. IDC ranked HP as the clear leader in the EMEA server market during Q3 2009 and Matthews urged people to "look at the market share stats".

"We have the broadest range," he added. "We can deliver server solutions to SMBs and enterprise. I do not believe there is any other vendor that achieves that."

Matthews also pledged that HP would not get complacent about long-standing relationships with hardware VARs. He claimed he would focus on making sure HP was reliable, flexible and expeditious in delivering pricing information.

"We have always had competition in the marketplace," he said. "My philosophy is that I need to earn the right to do business with (partners)."

He also revealed partners could cash in if they took advantage of the full breadth of HP's technology.

"We are looking to reward partners that sell more of the portfolio," he said. "If partners sell servers and storage together, then there is more of a reward for doing that."

"We are very, very focused on partnership and have increased (channel) resource. Now is the time to really step up and engage with HP."