Affinity Index: Unix/Linux Servers

Hewlett-Packard's channel edge is reflected in the success of all its system lines, but the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computing giant really impressed partners over the past year with its SMB Unix/Linux servers. HP earned top marks in the category in the Institute for Partner Education & Development (IPED) Channel Affinity Index, which measures vendors based on solution providers' scores in 15 weighted factors. IPED is the research arm of Everything Channel, which also owns Channelweb.

Coinciding with a strong affinity, HP also tops competitors in the value of proposals written and deals closed in the first half of the year, and the value of deals expected to close in the second half.

The following slides detail some of the findings in the SMB Unix/Linux server category.

Of the 15 factors that VARs scored vendors for the Channel Affinity Index, the end customers' brand preference and the cost and time it takes to change or add a vendor were the most important, according to solution providers. They gave each factor 10 percent of the total score.

On the other end, vendor co-marketing support and technical training were chosen as least valuable with only 3 percent of the total score.

Adding the scores for all 15 factors, solution providers' love for HP was evident. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based vendor earned a Channel Affinity Index score of 626, out of a maximum 1,000. That was 159 points higher than runner-up IBM and 38.5 percent better than the average score of 452.

HP's sales results in the Unix server category were just as dominant. With $2.3 billion in partner proposals written for the first half 2008, HP had an almost billion-dollar edge over second-place IBM in that metric. Overall, the value of HP proposals accounted for 41.7 percent of the value of all proposals.

The actual value of HP Unix/Linux server deals closed in that time frame was $723 million, compared to second-place Dell's $377 million and IBM's $346 million.

Sun Microsystems' woes over the past year are well-documented, and there could be some correlation with partners' bleak opinion of the company's channel friendliness. Sun's Unix servers were still fairly competitive in terms of partner proposals written and the vendor came in first in the average size of those transactions. But Sun also came in last in the crucial, rubber-meets-the-road value of deals closed. In terms of overall partner affinity, Sun was also dead last, trailing HP, IBM, Dell and San Jose, Calif.-based Super Micro.

HP solution providers were confident enough to expect to close $906 million in deals in the second half of 2008, a staggering rate that was just short of matching the planned deal valuation of all other vendors combined.

Overall, VARs expected to close 1.9 percent less dollars in Unix/Linux server deals in the second half of the year, compared to the first half.