Fiorina Reaffirms Hard Deck Commitment

"Hard Deck is not a product-specific program," Fiorina said in an interview after an analyst meeting here.

Fiorina's comments counter HP statements last week that the vendor was considering excluding those products from Hard Deck. Under Hard Deck, HP named about 900 enterprise accounts it would target on a direct basis, while leaving everything below the named accounts as the exclusive domain of the solution provider channel.

"Hard Deck is a program that is focused on accounts," Fiorina said. "It is a customer-segment focus. The short answer is, 'Yes,' [Hard Deck will continue and it will continue to be a customer-segment, market-segment focus."

Fiorina said any "confusion" about Hard Deck may be the result of HP's direct efforts in the PC business.

"In the PC space, we've said we've got to go direct aggressively because it is a lower-cost transaction for us," she said. "We've also said that we need to continue to build up our inside sales capability around low-end industry-standard servers and PCs. Again, it is because it is what customers demand and it is a lower-cost transaction for us. That is not news, it is just [that we are accelerating it with the merger. That is why the Hard Deck program is important."

When asked if HP was bypassing distributors and moving aggressively to an "agent model," Fiorina said: "If a distributor today, if all they are doing is pushing volume products, that is not a competitive business model going forward. Our best, our smartest channel partners know that they have to move out of that high-volume distribution game only because there are cheaper, faster ways to do it."

Fiorina reiterated that solution provider partners are "very important" to HP. "And it is also important that we are a cost-competitive provider, just as it is important that [solution providers are a cost-competitive partner. And that means we have to serve customers the way they want to be served. And if direct is a more cost-competitive model for certain parts of the business, that is the way we've got to go."