ProCurve tempts VARs

Volume sellers and smaller resellers to benefit from firm's expanded partner programme

ProCurve, the networking business of Hewlett-Packard (HP), has rebuilt its channel programme to appeal to catalogue sellers and smaller VARs.

The firm said that its existing definition of Elite is used by seven resellers in the UK, but the re-launched programme aims to cater to smaller VARs, and volume sellers such as dabs.com, WStore and Computacenter.

The ProCurve Networking and Security (PNS) programme will fit into HP’s PartnerONE partner programme, which seems to have reached equilibrium after rocky beginnings.

Jon Weatherall, HP ProCurve country manager for the UK and Ireland, said: “ProCurve previously had one main channel programme: Elite. We realised that many more resellers offered a lot of value to customers and to our business.”

As a result, the firm has introduced two new accreditations: Specialist and Professional. Specialist resellers will share similar capabilities to Elite partners, although they are unlikely to offer such luxuries as same-day on-site support, central network monitoring or 24 hours-a-day call centre help lines. Professional accredited resellers are what ProCurve describes as “highly transactional” – volume sellers such as e-tailers, mail order houses and corporate resellers.

Weatherall said that ProCurve would recruit resellers to each programme in the UK, to a maximum of 12 Elite, 25 Specialist and fewer than 10 Professional partners.

The firm has also revamped training and incentives, offering sales and technical training at low or no cost.

Ashley Snelling, managing director of reseller ADA Networks, said: “HP ProCurve continues to invest in its range and develop the channel where possible. But it should also change its pricing policy to accommodate the increasing diversity of range.”