HPE Rolls Out Program to Grow as-a-Service Opportunity for Partners

HPE DISCOVER AND PARTNER GROWTH SUMMIT — Customers increasingly are demanding a new consumption approach to their digital transformation. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has recently pivoted to enable customers to consume its core business as a service to better support their business goals.

In this spirit, before the official kickoff of HPE Discover 2022 in Las Vegas, the company has announced a new partner program. HPE Partner Ready Vantage builds upon the HPE Partner Ready program. To help partners weather and flourish in today’s fluctuating market, HPE Partner Ready Vantage steps in. The program focuses on partners with as-a-service practices and aims to help them adapt and grow their businesses wherever they are on their journey. 

Adapting Partner Models

In the last few years, HPE has switched its partner focus from transactional to subscription. This is no small thing, as it changes the whole makeup of the channel. As a result, it changes the definition of a successful partner, and what partners and vendors choose to invest in. Dell and Microsoft have also done this, begging the question, how has/will that strategy paid/pay off? It has everything to do with the technical requirements of partners.

HPE’s George Hope

“We’re focused on finding new ways to put partners first,” said George Hope, worldwide head of partner sales, HPE. “This means providing the choice, flexibility, the opportunity to adapt and grow at the partners’ pace. I think that it’s critical to understand that everyone operates at a different pace. And we want to accommodate the different phases. We’re going to continue to create significant resources, investments, tools and programs to meet the needs of today’s (and tomorrow’s) partner. This, of course, means supporting all of the business models, and creating a framework that that’s welcoming to all. We want to make it easier for partners to grow their business within us. So we need to be in keeping with the evolution of our as-a-service portfolio, our own transformation as a company, with our strategy.”

Updates and Refreshes

In tandem with the program, HPE also announced several updates and enhancements. These include the HPE Pro Series, Partner Connect, and a refresh to the HPE partner portal.

The Road to Digital Transformation

The aforementioned shifts in the market are causing partners to shift their thinking. It is no longer enough to simply supply specific components of infrastructure. Customers are now more or less demanding that partners understand their business. With that comes tailoring, delivering and managing full solutions that help them solve specific challenges. It’s not just about jumping over hurdles anymore; it’s about ways to achieve key business outcomes with measurable results. This is most certainly one of the key components to digital transformation. 

So, instead of capital expenditure (capex)-focused approaches, customers now expect operating expenditure (opex) arrangements. Most importantly, this is where partners provide simple as-a-service solutions that allow them to pay only for what they need. 

The demand is indeed high for full-service partners that deliver comprehensive, ongoing support that is “made to order.” For instance, according to IDC, 76% of business-to-business customers want partners to take more day-to-day administrative and operational responsibility for infrastructure so internal IT staff can focus more on business outcomes.

Addressing Market Upheaval

The aim of HPE Partner Ready Vantage is to …