HP will also integrate their distributors into the Amplify program, and announced two new enablement programs, More for More and Fast Lane.
Kobi Elbaz, SVP of Global Channels at HP. onstage at HP Amplify
CHICAGO – While HP made multiple announcements at their Ampify Partner Conference here, the big partner-focused announcement involved the expansion of their Amplify Partner Program. At the start of the new HP fiscal year (November 1 2023) the Poly, Teradici and HyperX partner programs will all be integrated into Amplify, in what HP is calling Amplify for All. Their distribution partners will formally become part of Amplify then as well. Two new enablement benefits were also announced. The More for More program will provide additional benefits to partners for selling across the HP portfolio. The Fast Lane program is designed to simplify and improve HP’s demand generation process by automating the reimbursement of MDF funds.
Kobi Elbaz, SVP of Global Channels at HP, stressed in his keynote that the Future Ready theme that was outlined pertaining to HP’s overall strategy, portfolio and operations, applies equally to their channel.
“The way we work and way our customers work has completely changed,” he said. “That requires that our commitment to you, our partners, remains strong, because partner innovation never stops.
“We designed Amplify in 2020 to address the trends we saw in the industry,” Elbaz continued. “This included the sharp rise of data and analytics, and the change in customer buying behavior to digital, requiring an omni-channel approach. Amplify is the first program to go beyond compensation-based capabilities and change the way we engage.” Elbaz noted that 98% of their partners are now collaborating with HP, which he said helps drive tangible sales action by customers.”
Elbaz said that the new changes to the program reflect their post-pandemic ability to focus on these types of issue rather than concentrating on product and supply.
“We are now taking the channel from a product to an experience focus,” he stated. “We are getting back to partners and customers after two years of solving the problems of the pandemic.”
This all begins at the start of HP’s fiscal 2024 on November 1, 2023, when all HP products, solutions and distribution will be integrated into the HP Amplify Program to provide a single global platform for partner engagement. This includes the partner programs from Poly, Teradici and HyperX.
Specific details on how this will work for the individual integrations will come later.
“We will not be announcing the channel details until November,” said Andy Rhodes, SVP and General Manager of Hybrid Solutions & HyperX at HP, who runs the Poly portfolio. “We still have some integration to do.”
Also scheduled to kick off at the start of the new fiscal year are the More for More and Fast Lane programs.
“With More for More, starting next year partners that can play across the HP portfolio will receive additional compensation on top of what they already receive,” Elbaz said. “We will continue to have our old compensation, but no longer will have walls between lines of products.” More for More will leverage a rate multiplier to boost compensation for qualified partners.
The other new program, Fast Lane, is a joint demand generation program, which simplifies reimbursement of MDF through an automated process for claims and payments.
“Our Demand Generation process has been quite complicated,” Elbaz said. “Introducing the Fast Lane joint generation program will make the turn-around time much faster.”
Elbaz also provided an update on Amplify Data Insights, which is further through the process and approaching launch.
“We knew this was an area we had to improve,” he said. “You told us you want to make sure Data Insights information would be easier to be use, and wanted us to make it easier for a sales rep to identify customers. You also want knowledge from this to be integrated so you can manage your sales force through your CRM. We piloted this last month, and it is near launch.”
HP also announced a new incentive for HP Amplify Impact, HP’s program focused on Sustainable Impact. To date, participation has been focused on marketing advantages, and positive vibes for partners who like that sort of thing. The new incentives let partners translate Impact participation into broader Amplify program status. Beginning in May 2023, qualified partners receiving 3-Star recognition in Impact will earn a point towards eligibility for Power and Power Services.
“Driving sustainability through Amplify Impact brought us more than 7000 deals we wouldn’t have got without this,” Elbaz said. “By 2025, we would like more than 50% of our channel partners to be part of Impact. Today, it is in 43 countries, and it will be in all. We really are encouraging partners to join us for this journey.”
