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Hewlett-Packard is simplifying its deal registration process and streamlining previously disparate channel programs to make it easier for channel partners to work with the massive company -- and reward solution providers who carry more of HP’s growing technology stack.
HP has been re-evaluating its deal registration program and has managed to remove several time consuming steps. Starting Nov. 1, HP will begin using a deal registration tool that cuts the number of options that partners must consider from 11 to 5. The tool also draws clearer delineation between volume- and value-oriented transactions.
Matt Smith, director of marketing for HP's Solution Partners Organization, says the goal is to reduce the time solution providers spend making deal registration requests. "This is one of the biggest areas that partners have been asking us to streamline," Smith told CRN in a recent interview.
HP has also simplified its resale paths to provide clearer guidance for registering volume- and value-oriented deals and reaping the associated program benefits. In the past, partners had to navigate the legal aspects of registering deals on their own, but HP will now be handling that task.
Deal registration is never far from the minds of solution providers, but programs in the IT industry have been known to cause headaches, or at the very least, to make partners jump through many hoops. As a result, partners aren't always able to avail themselves of the protection these programs are designed to provide. But solution providers are encouraged by HP's efforts to remove the complexity from its channel business.
"Simplification is really the overall message," said Romi Randhawa, president and CEO of Fremont, Calif.-based HPM Networks. "HP has been acquiring a lot of companies and they’ve been doing a lot of specialization, and it's been tough for us to keep track of things."
