Doreen Goh (HPE)
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has put new programs and incentives on the table, aligned with partner growth opportunities.
During its Singapore Partner Kick-Off event, HPE revealed iQuote – an online tool targeted at growth for resellers – with Singapore being one of the first countries in Asia Pacific (APAC) to deploy it.
According to HPE, some benefits of the tool include increased quote accuracy and reduced quote turnaround time for partners. It is integrated with Ingram Micro’s IMOnline partner portal to allow the delivery of real-time information to partners on stocks availability and incentives from HPE’s Engage and Grow program.
Meanwhile, the vendor will also be rolling out its Singapore Deal Registration Program – described as an “upfront price protection program” intended to help partners “protect and increase” margins while rewarding partners who are first to uncover new opportunities, especially in the areas of as-a-Service and new customer acquisition.
HPE Singapore channel director Doreen Goh revealed to Channel Asia that it intends to ramp up efforts in capturing cloud and data market trends in 2023 while prioritising partner enablement to capitalise on growth opportunities.
“These new programs are a testament to how we are doubling down on our commitment to our channel partners in Singapore by providing partners with a path to reach new markets and unlock new revenue streams, enabling them to maximise profitability,” she added.
At the same time, HPE has launched its Small and Medium Business (SMB) Select Program in Singapore, which will see the vendor invest in joint demand generation campaigns and incentives for partners to target the SMB and mid-market segments.
“We want to continuously support and advance our partners’ business as they adjust their strategies to take advantage of new market opportunities,” said Joseph Yang, HPE’s managing director of Singapore, at the time of the announcement.
“Through new programs and incentives, such as HPE iQuote and the Deal Registration Program, we are doubling down on our commitment to our channel partner ecosystem by providing partners with a path to reach new markets and unlock new revenue streams, enabling them to maximise profitability.”
To further drive partner appetite, Goh also shared the establishment of a “strategic partner club” specifically where investments and transformation are made around the areas of data and cloud.
As part of the scheme, top performing partners and distributors across APAC who have signed up for the recently announced HPE Top Achievers Club can expect to be rewarded with a fully sponsored overseas trip.
“We are committed to collaborating with and enabling partners to capitalise on the growth opportunities available for cloud and data storage, while helping them to protect and grow their margins,” she emphasised.
Incentivising partner deals
Supporting partners with more “speed, agility, focus and predictability” is intended to create and accelerate business opportunities, according to Goh.
“Our customers and partners are at the heart of every business decision that we make. We believe in the power of collaboration – building long-term relationships with our customers, our partners and each other,” she added.
On the new program, incentivising partners via deal protection and authorisation for additional benefits to win customers is the goal. HPE shared that the program covers all of its products and services, and is available to all Singapore Partner Ready members, including those under Platinum, Gold, Silver and Business statuses.
“This program is inclusive of a double-digit percentage price protection for approved deal registrations as well as additional price protection for partners quoting HPE GreenLake and working on joint customer acquisitions with HPE,” explained Goh.
Equipping partners with competitive edge
Looking ahead into FY23, HPE outlined three priorities aligned with their vision and partner business models.
Firstly, Goh believed that partners should be offered a path to “evolve their business at their own pace”, and supporting them under HPE programs to achieve outcomes with shared customers.
“In its transformation to a cloud-native, software-defined data services business, HPE’s key priority is to enable our partners to leverage HPE data services on the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform. We want to support them in their efforts to help customers accelerating their data-first modernisation with a cloud operational experience for all apps and data,” she said.
Additionally, the vendor is looking to expand partnerships and offerings with solution integrators, cloud service providers, independent software vendors and co-location providers across their ecosystem. This will widen collaboration opportunities and for HPE partners to increase customer reach all under one banner.
Lastly, driving “significant enhancement” to HPE’s tools and processes is a vital part of the strategy moving forward, with a special focus on customer and partner experiences – which Goh described as their “North Star”.
“To best support these priorities, in addition to the programs, we will continue to invest in helping our partners hone their skills through the HPE Pro Series and ultimately stand out through expertise,” she doubled down.
