Hurd, The Channel And HP's Consistency

ChannelWeb.com ran a story last Tuesday stemming from a question-and-answer session Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd had with 100 CIOs in which he talked about his desire for end users to work closely with HP's best partners.

ROBERT FALETRA Can be reached at (781) 839-1202 or via e-mail at rfaletra@cmp.com.

There are lots of messages in a statement like that, including a commitment to the channel, but there's also a desire for VARs to become more HP-centric.

Hurd has been consistent in saying he wants solution providers to make HP a bigger part of their business, and it's paying off.

More importantly, HP's worldwide channel organization has continually stepped it up in investment, consistency and communication over the past two years. What it has created is a company that is aligned in its strategy, message and execution. The end result is HP is not only putting more distance between itself and Dell on the low end, it is also taking share in the channel from IBM, which from where I sit seems to be struggling in its strategy and execution.

Four or five years ago, IBM had a clear, consistent message in the channel and was focused on execution and making itself easier to do business with. It worked, and I got consistent feedback from partners back then that Big Blue was gaining on a then-stumbling HP.

But Hurd has settled down and has what is now the world's largest computing and information company very focused.

As Craig Zarley writes in "Hurd To CIOs: HP Has Great Channel Partners," HP is investing in partners in a number of ways, including a pilot designed to fund HP account managers inside solution providers focused on the Global 2000 customer set.

There are many reasons why HP seems to be hitting on all cylinders in the channel right now, but there is one, in my opinion, that rises above the others. It's the consistency of message—and it's a consistency that is being driven by Hurd. This guy understands that his internal communication and his external communication are one and the same. The result is he isn't spinning the message based on the audience—he isn't saying one thing internally and another when he is in front of partners. The company's advertising is lined up as well.

A lot of CEOs don't seem to get the fact that their communication in any form drives an organization's execution. If the message is inconsistent, then the organization will become fractured and inefficient.

Right now you would be hard-pressed to disagree that Hurd is the best CEO in high-tech. He is running an enormous worldwide organization that is executing well in the channel and elsewhere, and my bet is the numbers are only going to get better for a while.

What message are you getting from HP?
Make something happen. E-mail CMP Channel President Robert Faletra at rfaletra@cmp.com.