'HP does this well', UK boss tells VARs before split

UK managing director of HP Andy Isherwood reassures resellers as schism looms

Andy Isherwood, UK managing director of HP, has spoken to reassure partners ahead of the firm's split scheduled for later this year.

"When we come to talk about separation, I think HP does this well," Isherwood (pictured) said to a room full of UK partners at this year's HP Global Partner Conference in Las Vegas.

"I am very, very confident we can manage it in a way that doesn't affect our customers or our partners and actually we can really start to materialise and look at the benefits we can see from having the focus on the two different businesses," he said.

HP is set to split into a PC and printing business, which will assume the HP Inc moniker, and an enterprise and services company – Hewlett-Packard Enterprise – with the division completed by the start of November.

Isherwood also said he felt HP enjoyed a positive 2014 fiscal year in the UK, and has improved its relationship with the UK government.

"From a UK and Ireland point of view, we grew the business by close to five per cent [in FY14], predominantly driven by our product business," he said.

"Public sector relationships are very difficult and I am really pleased to say that after 12 months of trying with the Cabinet Office and various ministers, we have really turned that relationship around and I think some of the wins we have seen, and the ones that we have coming over the next few weeks, will show you a little about changing that narrative and also the way we are dealing and coping with changes in government."

From a global perspective, Isherwood said chief executive Meg Whitman's investment in innovation and new products has put the company in a strong position.

"We are continuing to see and believe in this pipeline of innovation that she has invested in," he said.