Enterprise Channel Awaits Benefit From HP Alignment

Last November, HP said it had implemented a plan announced earlier that year to select between 50 and 60 enterprise partners to work with the company’s Technology Solutions Group as an extension of the HP sales team in key accounts. Some HP enterprise partners selected as part of the group, however, said they have yet to see a significant uptick in business from the initiative.

HP President and CEO Mark Hurd said last month that HP is working to retool its sales force in order to build a consistent and effective account planning process and sales engagement strategy.

“When you get those enterprise partners mapped … you can get a very different set of behavior depending on what accounts you’re mapping into,” Hurd said. “And we’ve got to normalize that.”

He said part of the process includes hiring new HP salespeople, getting them trained on HP products and technology, and then assimilating them into a consistent sales methodology that incorporates partners. Hurd said HP and its solution providers should start to see progress “towards the end of this year.”

One HP enterprise solution provider mapped into TSG said inconsistency continues to plague the vendor’s enterprise sales strategy.

“Whatever channel strategy gets set in place by SPO [Solution Partners Organization] and TSG doesn’t seem to carry the amount of weight that it should down at the street level,” said the solution provider, who asked not to be identified. “The street still gets to determine who they want to work with.”

As a result, some HP sales reps are protecting PC-oriented solution providers in large accounts and keeping out value-oriented enterprise partners.

“These guys couldn’t sell an enterprise server if their life depended on it,” said another HP enterprise partner, who requested anonymity. “But the HP rep doesn’t want to introduce another HP partner. Oftentimes, we’re forced to get into the account by introducing a competitive product.”