Violin insists HP partnership is still in play

Flash vendor dismisses reports that HP is discontinuing its partnership as it announces new resale deal with Fujitsu

Violin has insisted that its relationship with HP is "ongoing until someone says it is not" following reports that HP does not plan to extend its partnership reselling Violin's 3000 flash array.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that HP is discontinuing the partnership in order to focus on its own 3Par storage devices, something the vendor reinforced in a statement in which it claimed its offering was "the long-term strategic direction for the company".

Violin announced a partnership with Fujitsu at the SNW Powering the Cloud conference in Frankfurt, which will see Fujitsu resell the updated 6000 array.

Despite the overlap, Violin's managing director claimed both firms will sell their respective versions of the product set. HP currently sells the 3000 through its direct team and its reseller network, while Fujitsu will begin its partnership with Violin by selling only direct until at least next year.

A statement from HP played down the reports that the vendors are parting company, and said the relationship "remains unchanged".

Violin's EMEA managing director, Garry Veale, said: "Both products [3000 and 6000] are still current, but as Fujitsu came along later, they naturally take the newer 6000 product. HP only carries the 3000 product, but it is an ongoing contract... until someone says it is not."

Veale added that Violin was "flattered" that Fujitsu chose its products to resell, and said it hopes the new partnership will add market reach as well as a "seal of approval" for it as an emerging vendor.

Marcus Schneider, head of product development group for storage at Fujitsu, said: "By adding Violin 6000 systems to the portfolio, Fujitsu now offers the ideal storage mix to balance performance and capacity needs."