Resellers give HP vote of confidence
Partners react positively to noises coming out of HP's Global Partner Conference in Las Vegaas
Resellers have given HP's latest partner programme updates the thumbs up and are confident they will help partners make a smooth transition when the vendor splits its business in two later this year.
Yesterday at HP's Global Partner Conference in Las Vegas, a raft of partner programme changes were announced, with the introduction of its Partner Navigator Programme and Partner One Alliance, which aims to help partners adjust for the split planned for later this year into Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and HP Inc.
Speaking to CRN at the conference, Ian Mobberley, technology director at OCSL, was welcoming of the partner changes and confident the impending break up would not impede partners.
"The navigation programme they are putting in place to make it harmonious across the two businesses will make it straightforward for us," Mobberley said.
"There is a huge amount they are investing both from a worldwide and a regional level. There are teams that have been in place for the last four months that have been working on this so by the time we get into August and then into September, organisations like our own will know exactly what we are supposed to be doing and time-to-market will not be affected and will be actually improved.
"If we look forward for OCSL, the split is exciting because it gives us real focus around the areas we are working on," he said.
He also said he felt HP would use partners to ensure there is no disruption to business with end-customers during the schism.
"The channel will become that buffer if you like between the customer and HP, that will be able to take away any discomfort there might be and I think that's why HP are investing massively in the partner ecosystem," he said. "Because it's a channel-led organisation we can take away some of that, if there is any, pain or discomfort, whatever it might be, between the middle of this year and the middle of next year."
He said it is "unlikely" that there would be any slow-down in business during the split, and was confident that there would not be any delays on HP's timetable.
OCSL is solely partnered with HP, and has seen its growth over the last few years driven by its move to be more focused on the cloud and a services model.
Howard Hall, managing director of HP partner DTP Group, said he was very confident about the transition and did not have any qualms with the partner programme.
"From our perspective the partner programme works reasonably well, although you can always find improvements with it.
"The transition was a shock to start with, but you can see why it's being done and I can see talking to the execs it's going to accelerate innovation. The split for us won't make too much difference; they are splitting for a reason but are staying connected for a reason and I feel they will provide enough support to cope with the transition.
"It's a big change and with any change some people will feel vulnerable but from our perspective I can see talking to execs there are things we have been asking for in terms of products and they will be accelerated because of the split in terms of bringing them to market."