Avnet Launches ISV Partnering Plan For HP VARs

The program, unveiled at the distributor&'s HP partner conference in Phoenix, will help ISVs that team with Avnet and its HP VARs deploy solutions faster and, in turn, slash sales cycle times, said Jim Custer, director of business development for the APS HP unit.

“We currently have eight active ISVs in the program, and we are looking to extend that to somewhere between 12 and 15 over the next six months,” Custer said.

The ISVs include software makers specializing in server consolidation, ERP, health care, business intelligence and manufacturing. Under the plan, APS is approaching the ISVs through HP to leverage the IT giant&'s current relationships, Custer said.

Steve Reese, vice president of solutions at Premier Systems, a Blue Bell, Pa.-based solution provider, said the new APS program will help his company extend its market reach within its geography.

The program is part of APS&' Market Connection network, which provides HP solution providers with tools for expanding business opportunities. As part of the effort, APS is teaming regional VARs with ISVs in a given geography.

To participate in the program, VARs must establish training programs for sales and technical support of the ISVs&' applications, as well as have executive sponsorship within the solution provider organization and assign a program manager for the ISV relationship. Also, if solution providers team with ISVs with vertical applications, they must have an existing practice in those specific verticals, Custer said.

“Part of the value that we are providing the ISV is that there is potential to expand their reach in the market by leveraging the installed base using our resellers [in specific verticals],” he said.

ISVs often are hardware-agnostic and, after they sell their applications, they leave it to the customer to select the hardware platform, according to Custer. By teaming ISVs with HP hardware integrators, the software vendors can deploy their applications more rapidly, he said.

APS also wants to give solution providers participating in the program some degree of exclusivity, Custer added. Initially, APS plans to partner only one solution provider for each of HP&'s 11 sales regions per ISV, he said.

“The only reason we would have more than one per region is if there&'s more opportunity in a given region than one partner can handle or if a single partner doesn&'t have full geographic coverage in a particular region,” Custer said. “Our goal, therefore, is to have 10 to 12 partners for each ISV.”