HP To Combine All Solution Provider Programs Into Single Contract

Hewlett-Packard

HP plans to unveil the new program to solution providers via Webcast Tuesday, said Kevin Gilroy, HP's vice president and general manager for North America commercial channels. Gilroy said HP currently has about 35 to 40 different channel programs divided by product and market segments, and about 30 separate solution provider contracts. "These programs are extremely complex and almost impossible to aggregate," he said.

As a result, the new partnerOne aggregates all HP programs and designations into a single contract. HP and its partners will develop joint business plans on a quarterly basis that recognize solution providers' entire business capabilities and the entire contribution to HP including products and services, Gilroy said.

"The amount of time and effort I spend trying to understand six or seven different HP contracts is mind-boggling," said Don McDowell, vice president of server solutions at Forsythe Solutions, Skokie, Ill. "I hope this gives me the ability to tune things to my business model instead of toward a specific [product silo for HP."

Susan Reynolds, channel program manager for North America at HP, said 50 partners will initially be targeted to transition to partnerOne in late spring, with all other HP solution providers to begin migration to partnerOne by late summer.

Gilroy said the new plan was designed with solution provider input and is purposely being phased in on a pilot basis so that any problems with the program can be worked out prior to full implementation across all business partners. "This is a three-quarters-baked cake," he said. "Partners have told us they don't want programs delivered that are completely done."