HP's Crash Course?

Did Hewlett-Packard set the bar too low for its new storage Fast Start program, which is aimed at getting more solution providers to sell HP SANs? That's a question the computer giant should be looking at closely in the wake of the firestorm that erupted as a result of its Fast Start pilot program to quickly enable ProLiant server VARs to sell its EVA 4100 Enterprise Storage Array.

STEVEN BURKE Can be reached at (781) 839-1202 or via e-mail at sburke@cmp.com.

The Fast Start offering is aimed at getting partners that are selling a boatload of ProLiant servers to sell more HP SANs rather than an entry-level HP storage offering or a competing SAN product. HP is providing the training and highly skilled storage technicians to the participants. All the ProLiant partners have to do is watch a short video that, at this point, does not even include the EVA 4100 products announced in mid-June. At the end of a six-month trial period, Fast-Start participants will be expected to go through the full HP certification process. Loyal HP enterprise partners that have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in certification and highly paid engineering talent are angry that HP is opening the doors to these new players without demanding the same type of investment they made. HP, meanwhile, is quick to point out it will make sure any account it targets with the new players is not being served by existing enterprise partners.

The Fast-Start offering comes with HP Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd driving higher compensation to partners that double down on HP and sell a complete HP solution rather than "hollowing out" their HP business with products from rivals. "We have some partners that hollow out HP products and put in third-party components, and I have a problem with that," Hurd recently told a group of CIOs. "We will get very tough on those types of partners."

The question Hurd and HP channel architects have to ask themselves is: Does this new Fast Start program penalize the best and most loyal HP partners? It's an important question for HP, which to its credit, has the broadest and deepest product line in the business. The point is, you can't have it both ways—demanding partners go to market with an all-HP solution and then provide a low bar of entry for potential new partners.

Ultimately, the Fast Start program is a high-speed road to big-margin SAN sales for participants. HP enterprise partners, however, see it as a crash course that will take its toll on their margins and their HP partnership.

IS HP'S FAST START PROGRAM A CRASH COURSE?
LET ME KNOW AT SBURKE@CMP.COM.