Tough tests force HP Vars to prove worth

Later this year Hewlett Packard UK will introduce three levels of accreditation for its systems resellers that HP will adopt worldwide.

According to an early draft of HP's plan, workstation and server dealers will qualify as authorised, preferred or premier HP Vars, depending on the level of service and value-add they can provide.

Norry McAllister, HP channels manager, said the accreditation levels are codenames for the proposed tiers. 'The accreditation will only apply to former CSO (systems) partners, not CPO (printer and PC) resellers.' At present, accredited HP systems resellers are not divided into tiers.

Above authorised dealers, the base-level of accreditation dealers, will need to pass staff training and quality criteria to qualify for the preferred dealer level. Top-tier premier resellers will have to pass stringent tests and prove the quality of their operation to external reviewers.

HP UK was worried its US parent would supersede the UK idea with a worldwide accreditation scheme. 'They saw our plan and decided HP should adopt it worldwide for systems dealers,' McAllister said.