HP crowns first-ever Platinum partners

Kelway, Softcat, OSCL and SCC among those winning top accreditation

HP has kicked off its fiscal 2014 by naming its first-ever Platinum-level partners in the UK.

Earlier this year, the vendor announced a flurry of changes to its PartnerOne programme, and the introduction of a top-level Platinum partner status was one of the key alterations along with streamlined certifications and an updated compensation model. It claims the overhaul will make life simpler and more profitable for its partners.

Softcat, Kelway, OCSL, DTP and SCC are among those to have secured a place on the highest-possible HP tier.

Newly accredited Platinum resellers had a new set of hoops to bisect, including extra, more intensive training and assessment and heavier investment in sales staff and HP technical specialists.

SCC said being able to brand itself a Platinum partner meant the hard work was worth it.

"It has required a team effort across the business – with many hours of training and exams completed – and we will use this new accreditation to ensure that customers clearly understand the value we can build around the market-leading HP solution sets," said the reseller.

Softcat, which has a long-established partnership with the vendor, said it trained up 50 sales staff and 25 technical engineers to make the grade.

"I'm thrilled with the accreditation, but we're not getting complacent," said Softcat boss Colin Brown.

"HP is a long-established partner and it's important that we maintain our expertise on their products. Our staff have done us proud by achieving brilliant results in the training exams they have taken, which has enabled them to sell and support the entire HP range."