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HP debuts new partner program enhancements

Unveiled at HP Amplify Executive Forum in Dubai.

HP has unveiled several new partner benefits within its Amplify partner program aimed at driving greater partner collaboration, training opportunities and community engagement.

Announced at the HP Amplify Executive Forum (AEF) in Dubai -- HP’s annual partner roadshow -- the new enhancements include an expansion of the Amplify Data Insights program, an extension of the Amplify Impact partner sustainability program globally and the introduction of Curiocity, a new partner training and engagement platform.

“HP’s success relies heavily on the strength of our channel partners," said Kobi Elbaz, general manager of Global Channel Organisation at HP. "Over the past year alone, our partners helped drive more than $6 billion dollars in revenue growth."

Elbaz asserted that the new benefits reflect HP’s “continued commitment to the channel and ongoing investment” towards partner enablement in their service to customers and driving growth via the delivery of “insights, training, connection and engagement”.

Leveraging data insights

Placing data at the heart of its channel growth plans, HP launched the Amplify Data Insights program a year ago.

The offering is designed to combine third-party intelligence and partner data into one “intuitive dashboard”, allowing technology providers to benchmark performance, enhance customer experience levels and strengthen long-term strategic priorities.

Acting on partner feedback, the vendor has expanded its customer-level insights available using advanced analytics, providing “customer-ready, targeted opportunities” for partners to action on.

Crucially, the new automated tools are devised to integrate directly with partner sales systems, in a bid to simplify how data is collected and delivered to participating partners to convert insights more easily into sales-drive actions.

According to HP, 98 per cent of its channel partners currently share data, with more than 14 billion data points being updated in the platform weekly. As such, the new enhancements are intended to create a partner sales force that can be “more targeted and effective in winning business”.

Expanding Amplify Impact globally

HP’s commitment to sustainability was encapsulated with the launch of Amplify Impact in early 2021, and was further expanded to an additional 24 countries in February 2022, including Indonesia and Malaysia, making the initiative available to a total of 43 nations worldwide.

Making bigger waves in the sustainable movement, the vendor has declared that the program will reach all markets -- with plans to launch the program via a phased approach over the next two years.

HP also confirmed that the program is open to partners of all types -- including resellers, retail, and distribution partners -- regardless of location.

The initiative focuses on providing Amplify partners with ways to benefit from improving sustainability practices, offering training, sales and marketing resources, as well as a return and recycling program for end-of-life HP products.

The vendor revealed that more than US$3.5 billion of new sales in its fiscal year 2021 had sustainability as a deciding factor, which is a testament to a growing awareness and implementation of an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda by businesses around the world. Hence, there is a competitive advantage to be realised for partners which HP hopes to assist with through Amplify Impact.

In addition, HP is striving to increase the attractiveness of the initiative by inviting partners to enter its new annual Amplify Impact Awards, celebrating partners across five categories -- the Amplify Impact Global Leader Award; Sustainability Business Award; Climate Action Award; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy Award and HP LIFE Award.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in December 2022 and will have the opportunity to promote their award externally with badges and promotional material. Partners can learn more on the Partner Portal and track their performance via the Awards Leaderboard.

Introducing Curiocity

In tandem with bolstering partner enablement, HP has introduced the Curiocity platform which is scheduled to be rolled out via a phased approach starting later this year, with the launch in Asia expected to be in 2023 as regional leaders plan for its localisation strategy.

Curiocity offers enhanced training, community engagement and rewards in a single program, which HP said is inspired by the open world concept and rewards system of renowned games, and is set to provide partner sales representatives with access to a “unique, collaborative community”.

Some of the key functions of the platform include the HP University Virtual Campus which is created to be a “one-stop shop” for soft skills, product and solutions training, as well as HP Community -- a centralised platform for partners to connect 1:1 with the HP team and its leaders or participate in community discussions.

In a media roundtable during the Dubai leg of the AEF roadshow, David Tan -- speaking as head of Channels and Supplies at HP -- emphasised that the “community element is important” and HP is building a “collaborative effort” by encouraging partners to come together to discuss issues and exchange ideas.

Tan also shared that the training modules for partners are the same as what HP uses internally, reflecting the vendor’s belief that their partners’ sales teams are “an extension of HP” which is the “crux” of these partner initiatives.

“Training for partners has always been a constant topic for us,” doubled down Tian Chong Ng, managing director of Greater Asia at HP.

Tian Chong deliberated that “gamification and using a more innovative way to train” would help channel partners “keep up with digital transformation and to build the skill sets needed to sell [HP’s] solution stack”.

Meanwhile, in their interactions with partners who were present for the Dubai roadshow, both leaders said that feedback on the new enhancements were “very positive”, with partners feeling that the vendor was getting “ahead of the game”.

Shirin Robert travelled to Amplify Executive Forum (AEF) in Dubai as a guest of HP.