HPE Partner Conference: Aruba Channel Leader Talks New Partner Program

Aruba Networks and Hewlett Packard Enterprise unveiled their first everjoint partner programthat combines the best elements of the two company's separate partner programs, said Donna Grothjan, vice president of Worldwide Channels for Aruba Networks.

"We essentially brought best of both worlds together," said Grothjan, in an interview with CRN at the 2016 HPE Global Partner Conference in Boston on Tuesday. "So the [Aruba] Partner Edge program was very focused on up front discounts and deal registration based on transactions and the [HPE] Partner Ready program was really based on backend incentives. We now brought those two elements together."

At HPE's Global Partner Conference, the company unveiled itsPartner Ready for Networking Program, which will be HPE-Aruba's new networking channel go-to-market strategy.

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In the new program, channel partners are rewarded for cross-selling and up-selling wireless and switching solutions which includes enhanced back-end margins and the ability to sell managed services, such as Aruba Central—the company's cloud-based networking management solution—as well as Aruba ClearPass software.

Solution providers can make additional up-front discounts based on their certifications and specializations, said Grothjan. The program also delivers predictable profitability via deal protection with low deal-size minimums and simple tools that calculate profitability at the front end and back end.

The joint program comes nearly 16 months after HPE acquired Aruba for $3 billion in May of 2015.