HP Inc. plans to ramp up its channel play for 2016, according to its managing director, Rob Mesaros and channel business director, Chris Hewlett.
Mesaros told ARN that 80-85 per cent of the business HP Inc. generates within the A/NZ market is via the channel and the company plans to continue to move business away from direct and deeper within the channel as 2016 progresses.
“We know the magic really happens for the customer when we combine HP innovation with channel capabilities. That is the sweet spot for us,” he said.
“I couldn’t be happier with how the channel is operating in A/NZ and embracing our new company. The split was one of the world’s largest separations and the feedback from the channel is that it went off without a hitch, so we are thrilled.”
One of the company’s major partners is Dicker Data. Cloud and vendor alliances general manager of sales, Yasser Elgammal, agreed the split was seamless and said the planning leading up to the separation of the HP business was thorough.
“Post-separation support from the HP Inc. business has been very strong and throughout the first quarter of the new HP Inc. business we experienced solid growth. All senior management at the company have been working with us very closely during this time which is the level of collaboration we expect as one of the largest partners,” he said.
Staples technology solutions general manager, Karl Sice, said the separation has resulted in a much greater degree of focus. This was very welcome.
“From a business planning perspective, we are more specific than we were in the past and our level of support has increased because it has allowed them to be more focused on a shorter list of things,” he said.
Moving forward, a key focus for the company is the continuance of investments in HP Inc’s partner program, Partner First, and its HP Unison Platform, a tool that gives access to the company’s partner portal for partner representatives and principals to access support and quoting tools.
Mesaros also spoke of three particular pillars of company strategy for 2016. They are:
- Making it easier to do business by simplifying processes and programs by offering dedicated channel staff across A/NZ
- Investing in targeted training on programs and products and partnering with distributors on roadshows across the country
- Focus on connected teams to create joint business planning
Hewlett also spoke about the company’s joint business plan for HP Inc to achieve its goal of having connected teams.
“We sit down with our key partners and talk about their initiatives and where they want to head with their own business. We then map that with our business and come together with a dedicated plan that we can all work on,” he said.
