Hewlett-Packard is expanding the scope of its ServiceONE specialization, a program launched last November that lets HP's Technology Services partners offer HP professional and consulting services.
With a new offering called HP Multivendor Services, HP is making life easier for partners that work with multiple vendors on data center maintenance services. HP is training its call center staff to field customer support calls for both HP and non-HP products, thereby enabling partners to maintain relationships with clients for issues that fall outside HP's purview.
In an interview Tuesday, Ken Archer, vice president of channels and alliances for HP Technology Services, said enabling partners to handle multivendor services opportunities is a necessity given the heterogeneous nature of data center infrastructure.
[Related: HP Mounts Massive Partner Services Push With ServiceONE Program]
"Partners asked for this because in the data center, they are being asked by their customers to handle non-HP maintenance contracts from companies like Cisco, IBM and EMC," Archer told CRN. With HP's new offering, "Partners continue to be the 'trusted advisor' owning the total cost of maintenance."
Another new addition, called RAPID, is a tool that helps partners selling HP Care Pack Services to keep track of their contract renewals. "This is a tool that gives you visibility into all your HP contracts and Care Pack business that is up for renewal," Archer said. "It's a recurring revenue stream for partners because many will have renewals coming up every year."
A third new ServiceONE addition, called Partner Financial Simulator, is a modeling tool for partners to gauge the top- and bottom-line impact of investing in services. For example, they can use the tool to determine whether to build their own services capability or partner with a third party.
HP has trained its partner business managers and channel sales teams to use the Partner Financial Simulator and to use it in collaboration with partners, according to Archer.
HP ServiceONE, unveiled last July and launched in November, lets partners offer cloud computing, data center design, support and maintenance and other services. HP says the number of channel partners participating in HP ServiceONE has risen more than 20 percent in its fiscal 2012 year, which ends Oct. 31.
In fiscal 2013, HP will integrate Technology Services, led by Antonio Neri, vice president and general manager, both operationally and financially, into its Enterprise Group.
PUBLISHED OCT. 16, 2012
