HP scraps channel marketing merger

Vendor admits joining Unix/PC units was misguided.

Hewlett Packard has ditched plans to fuse its UK PC and Unix channel marketing after admitting that the decision made a year ago was ill-judged.

Speaking exclusively to PC Dealer last week, David Griffiths, UK channel marketing manager at HP, conceded that the vendor was better off keeping the two operations separate, because neither was receiving the focus it needed when put together.

HP originally announced its intention to merge the two last year, when it overhauled its Unix and NT divisions in an attempt to eradicate duplicated efforts, following the merger of the Unix and NT sales forces in November 1997 (PC Dealer, 1 April 1997).

At the time, the vendor believed it would be better off introducing a unified approach to its NT and Unix sales and marketing strategies.

Griffith admitted: 'We pooled all our channel stuff together last year, but it didn't really work. We decided in October that it was not such a good idea after all.'

Following the merger, NT products were sold direct through the enterprise division along with high-end Unix machines.

Griffith insisted that the withdrawal of the earlier strategy had no bearing on the failure of HP's direct sales force.

'The Unix direct force is good at its job. In fact, it sold a lot of NT for us. But the more you focus, the more you sell,' he added.

Emil Jones, managing director of HP Office Centre Ram Computer Systems, viewed the vendor's decision to keep the operations separate as a direct response to a similar move announced by archrival Compaq.

'Compaq started to market Alpha and Unix together up until a few months ago. Now HP is following suit. But it's a good move because it will get better market penetration if the channels remain separate,' he said.

THOMPSON LEAVES IT FOR SPORTS

Hewlett Packard veteran Dave Thompson has left the vendor after 14 years of service.

The former UK marketing manager for PCs, who left on 1 December, has bought into and become a director of sports sponsorship, marketing and promotions company International Sponsorship Management (ISM).

Speaking exclusively to PC Dealer last week, Thompson revealed that HP had been a client of ISM for a number of years and that as a director he will use his extensive experience of both the vendor and marketing to his advantage.

'When I was at HP, at any one time we had 200 agencies on our books and (ISM) was the best one,' he said. 'I wanted to get out of mainstream IT marketing. I like sport and I like marketing, so I thought I might put the two together.'

Thompson will be replaced by Borel Setten, former UK product marketing manager for the commercial PC division.

Commenting on his departure, Ian Whittaker, director and general manager of HP's commercial channels organisation, said it was 'highly amicable and of his own volition'.

He added that Thompson would use his expertise in the IT market and provide promotional packages to the industry in his role at ISM.