‘The new HP is committed to channels’

MUMBAI: The new HP is busy designing and building up its partner-centric

model. Said, HP India president, Balu Doraisamy, in an exclusive email interview

with DQCI. He wanted to convey the message to partners of both, pre-merger HP

and Compaq, that in the new HP, the channel has a partner who is absolutely

committed to their success in the market.






"In the new HP, they have a more powerful partner to help them meet their
customer needs and compete in the marketplace," says Balu. In dealing with

partners, the new HP will be guided by several key principles.






Some of these principles include, predictability through clearly defined rules
of engagement; strong business development focus; flexible and scalable demand

creation tools; easy-to-manage and maintain administrative and operational

processes; and the ability to be dynamic across a rich product portfolio.






These principles are meant to allay the fears among partners who were used to
work under two different cultures of pre-merger HP and Compaq. Before the merger

news had broken out, partners of each of these companies were competing fiercely

in the marketplace to bag orders from clients.






Though the new HP has been established, the uncertainty among partners still
continues because channel policies of the new company are yet to be announced.

Keeping this in mind, Balu says, "For the short-term (30 to 90 days),

currently, there is little change to the way we work. Depending on what products

the partners are selling or influencing, they will continue to work within the

respective programs of both companies."






This policy is being adopted to ensure that channel partners face least amount
of disruption in the current business flow. This applies to such areas as

marketing/affinity programs and benefits, promotions, contracts (Ts and Cs),

order processing, quotes and configuration, special pricing, order fulfillment,

and credit.






Points out Balu, "In the long-term, our intent is to blend the best of
both, pre-merger HP and pre-merger Compaq, to deliver a partner-centric,

integrated program that is flexible, scalable and dynamic to meet the needs of a

very competitive marketplace."






The new HP believes that the development of a partner-centric model will
maximize its augmentation and extension capabilities resulting in increased

market reach and revenue opportunities.