HP launches OpenCall partner program in Asia

CHINA: Hewlett-Packard company launched its new partnership program for application providers in Asia who are working on HP OpenCall platform to build solutions for communication service providers on March 12.

At present, there are close to 60 partners in this program globally with about 20 in Asia. TCS, UshaComm, and Estel are the three Indian companies, which are registered in this program. Most of the other partners are in China and Korea.

The program, launched last month globally at Cannes, France, was launched at the picturesque city of Sanya in Hainan Island, China. HP OpenCall is a HP suite of products comprising carrier grade platforms for development of convergent communication services.

"It is not a software development forum," said Colin Atkinson, OpenCall Strategic Business Program Manager, Worldwide, HP, "but a program that targets at leveraging both technical and marketing capabilities of HP and its partners to help each other."

For example, he explained, HP will use its marketing network to take the applications of some of its partners global. Small developers who do not have the resources to go global will benefit from it. Similarly, both HP and its partners will gain from the market presence of other partners.

"We will actively encourage them to cooperate with each other," he said. For example, a company having an expertise in content based applications in China can take the solution of an Indian company good in prepaid and sell it to its customers in China, resulting in a win-win situation for all the three parties.

HP OpenCall is being used by many large network equipment providers like Nortel and Ericsson. However, with the market changing rapidly and ISVs emerging as a major force, HP has started this partnership program. If successful, it could not only grow the market for OpenCall but also can help in giving the platform much needed brand equity by creating an OpenCall ecosystem.

(CNS)