Sun attracts VARs to play Away with HP
Channel vital to help users with application integration, says vendor
Sun has claimed it has gener-ated millions of pounds from its Hewlett-Packard (HP)-targeted HP Away programme, which it launched in the UK last October, and is urging the channel to get involved.
HP Away is designed to attract HP-UX Unix users to Sun hardware running its Solaris or the Linux operating systems (OS).
Sun said it is working with six UK customers on projects worth between $1m and $2m each. It is also talking to 10 other firms that are not already Sun customers.
"This is double what we were expecting," said Jon Tucher, UK product marketing manager at Sun. "Most of the opportunities are from Tru64 users, with two or three HP-UX projects."
Tucher added that channel partners are vital to the initiative. "We are working hand-in-hand with the channel over application integration. There are opportunities for VARs to work with customers who are unsure," he said.
Phil Anthony, VAR Repton's Sun business manager, said: "We don't do our Sun business through the HP Away programme, although it's a good idea.
It's a bit of a political hotbed between them, where HP has its own scheme to rival Sun's."
HP Away competes with HP's Sun Eclipse programme, which is aimed at migrating Solaris Unix users to Linux on Intel-based HP hardware. HP's programme was launched in the UK in February.
Russell Coombes, HP's UK Linux business manager, said: "More Sun customers are moving from Solaris to Linux." He added that HP is talking to a significant number of Sun customers about migrating. HP claims to have generated $75m of business since introducing Sun Eclipse.
Erick Mackay, marketing director at reseller ICM Computer Group, said: "Usually the difference between HP and Sun is in the OS, so the choice is often made according to how the technology fits. We're not part of HP's Sun Eclipse scheme, but anything that helps us sell as much as we can is good."