HP focuses on 'new style of IT'

Vendor uses first day of global partner conference in Las Vegas to unveil a multitude of new offerings, sales tools and services

HP has expanded its PartnerOne programme to include service providers, OEM integrators, ISVs and distributors as it promotes a "new style of IT".

It also unveiled a raft of solutions, sales tools, services and updates to its channel strategy that it claims will help partners accelerate growth.

Speaking at the launch of its Global Partner Conference in Las Vegas, Meg Whitman, chief executive of HP (pictured), said: “The new style of IT requires a new style of partnering. Together, HP and our partners have become the go-to technology provider for the new style of IT with industry-leading technology solutions, programmes and incentives that help partners drive growth.”

Other programme enhancements include the launch of HP PartnerOne for Cloud, to address growing demand for hybrid cloud solutions and the addition of PartnerOne Cloud Reseller Specialisation for US partners selling public cloud solutions.

It is also centralising special pricing requests and extending certain HP PartnerOne benefits into satellite countries, along with opening HP’s full portfolio of support services to partners and enabling them to co-sell HP datacentre services, flexible capacity services and proactive care services.

And it is courting ISVs with its new HP Enterprise Cloud Services SaaS Accelerator, which it claims will help ISVs "accelerate speed to market" and migrate to a SaaS model on HP’s managed cloud.

Other additions to the programme included a new learning management tool which simplifies the process of identifying ExpertOne certifications needed for PartnerOne specialisations, VIP access to HP engineers for ExpertOne Master-certified professionals, and an expanded portfolio of SMB flex-bundles engineered for Microsoft workloads.

The vendor has partnered with HP Data Protector and HP StoreOnce teams to develop a backup and recovery solution enablement programme; and has launched HP Unison – a framework of infrastructure, programmes and processes that claims to help partners advance their business through a dedicated HP Unison partner portal.