Compaq Cancels PartnerVision

Compaq's position is that its customers have said that time away from their businesses compounded by the cost of travel create an unacceptable expense during the tough economic climate facing all of the IT industry today. But Compaq's customers aren't alone in their struggles.

The decision to cull an annual partner event is not a small one, and not one made without a great deal of forethought. As a result, one has to ask what this signifies about Compaq and its own position in the marketplace. In March, Compaq lowered its fiscal 2001 first quarter earnings outlook to be flat with the first quarter of the previous year. Actual first quarter results mapped to that adjusted forecast. And in April, the company announced its decision to acquire e-business consulting and professional services firm Proxicom, a pricey endeavor in lean times. However, Compaq chose not to compete for Proxicom when Dimension Data later made a higher offer. Currently, Compaq is involved in a now-surfacing price war that was instigated by Dell in the PC space.

While Compaq is now in its quiet period and executives decline to comment on the company's financial status, Dan Vertrees, vice president of North America partner sales and marketing, says the August PartnerVision event was already funded, so it was not cancelled due to any undue cost constraints on the company resulting from the event itself. Vertrees says the decision was made after numerous conversations with Compaq solution providers who said that the timing for the event was not right for them.

"We are very mindful, very sensitive and we listened to their guidance," says Vertrees. "They shared with us that the timing was less than stellar based on the economy and the financial challenges some of our solution providers are experiencing at the current time."

In lieu of the August conference, the company will move up its various solution provider council meetings regularly scheduled for the November/December timeframe into the September/October timeframe.

The next PartnerVision, now scheduled for February 2001, will be held in Las Vegas at the same time as the company's North American field conference so some of the discussions can be combined.

Clearly certain partners will be disappointed that the company has pulled the plug on its summer 2001 event. If you're one of them, e-mail me at kfranse@cmp.com.