The Upcoming Battle For The Heart And Soul Of Solution Providers
It's that time of year when all the big vendors bring together those channel players that already love them for a few days of information overload.
Cisco Systems was out of the gate first a few weeks ago. IBM followed last week, and we will be heading to Hewlett-Packard in two weeks, then Computer Associates, Microsoft, etc.
These events, and the independent conferences that we at CMP run,including this week's XChange Solution Provider,are an important piece of a channel management plan.
The difference, of course, is that the vendor-run events are attended by partners that are already heavily engaged with the company, while the independent programs have a different audience. Behind this backdrop is an emerging trend in the making,an effort by vendors to gain share by recruiting and engaging those solution providers that are solidly in their competitor's camp.
IBM has had some success recruiting larger HP midrange VARs over the past year, and I believe it soon will be chasing those at the regional level. The regional effort certainly offers bigger challenges than soliciting 200 larger players.
We just might be heading toward a classic street fight between these two big gorillas over building a stronger channel.
While IBM was smart to pounce on the confusion and bad feelings that came as a result of HP's Compaq acquisition and its push toward direct sales on the low end, those issues are behind HP.
I don't believe you can point to the last two years as an indicator of how well these two companies will do in the next two. HP CEO Carly Fiorina and her management team should be able to focus on the task of running the business now, and that means fewer distractions and a more focused competitor for IBM.
CRN's monthly polls show that while IBM had better numbers than HP in channel satisfaction a few months ago, HP is rapidly closing the gap.
Going forward, we can assume that while there will be some areas where one will have an advantage from a product standpoint, both companies will be competitive. So if you agree that both HP and IBM will have solid product and service offerings, then where will the battle be won?
It will largely be won or lost in the channel, and both companies have strengths and weaknesses in that arena. Fortunately for both, the weaknesses can be overcome.
The DNA of each company is very different. IBM is a sales-driven organization, while HP is an engineering-driven company that has become much more marketing-savvy since Fiorina came on board. But IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has run Big Blue's channel in the past and is more in tune with it, which gives IBM a slight advantage.
Fiorina's marketing expertise, however, has resulted in an organization in which channel executives are much more empowered to put marketing dollars where they believe it matters most. HP wins that category.
While organizationally IBM seems more streamlined, somehow it remains more bureaucratic, so give the edge to HP here.
HP is about to announce its worldwide channel chief. Barring something unforeseen, both companies will have solid leaders on that score, so it's a tie.
Both of these companies need a strong channel and are going to be battling it out for years to come. In the end, hopefully, the channel, both companies and the industry will be better because of it.
Make something happen. I can be reached at (516) 562-7812 or via e-mail at [email protected].