Hewlett-Packard grabbed the Channel Champs title in network storage, but was denied a clean sweep by NetApp's strong showing in the financial category.
VARs chose HP as having the best technology and support. HP beat NetApp, Dell, IBM, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems and Netgear in every technical criteria, and finished strongly in support.
However, NetApp, Dell and HDS all managed to beat HP in various aspects related to financial rewards. Rich Baldwin, CEO of Nth Generation Computing, a San Diego-based solution provider and HP partner, said he was surprised that HP fared so poorly in the financial category. Baldwin noted that could be related to HP's changing its channel compensation model in the last year to one in which channel discounts are now calculated based on selling price. Last year, he said, they were based on a derivative of the distribution cost.
