HPE adds Juniper programmes into the unified channel offering

HPE has continued to bring its channel programmes under one banner, adding Juniper Networks’ offering into the mix.

Last November, the vendor unified its Partner Ready Vantage programmes and has now indicated that it is adding the networking and artificial intelligence (AI) offerings from Juniper Networks, with the changes being introduced from the start of November.

HPE is using the backdrop of its Discover event in Las Vegas this week to announce the programme changes and to prepare its channel base for the enchantments.

Simon Ewington, senior vice-president of worldwide channel and partner ecosystem at HPE, said the channel wanted simpler ways to work with the vendor, adding: “With a unified program across HPE and Juniper, aligned incentives and expanded partner-led offers, we are making it easier for partners to win more business across networking, cloud and AI.”

As well as adding Juniper’s programme into the unified offering, HPE is bolstering its Build Track, increasing the focus on combining more closely with the Unleash ISV programme.

On the Sell Track, HPE has aligned incentives to reward partners that develop deeper expertise and bring in fresh customers. The launch of a competitor take-out offer around storage could also prove to be margin for those resellers that are able to dislodge rivals.

Finally, the service track enhancements include the launch of partner-branded services that can be delivered on select platforms. There will be a chance for the channel to get their own brand out there, backed by HPE’s engineering support.

The move to include the Juniper Networks channel programme under the umbrella comes a year after it opted to unify its approach, with Ewington adding that the unification moves it made last November had started to yield results.

“We’re at the start of a journey, but we are starting to see much more cross-portfolio selling,” said Ewington. “There’s a massive focus now on leveraging the opportunity we have in datacentre networking, in particular from partners where we sell storage and compute, because we haven’t really had an opportunity. So … we’re starting to see some very interesting results there.”

The firm introduced a triple platinum-plus level last year to recognise partners that sold across the portfolio at a high-level, with Ewington saying the number of partners interested in that status had been increasing: “The results that we’ve seen and partners in that programme are growing much faster than others, mainly because they’ve already got the expertise across the full portfolio.”

Jesse Chavez, vice-president of worldwide partner strategy, programmes and operations at HPE, agreed that partners had been keen to embrace the wider portfolio and gain the accreditations to indicate that progress to customers.

“We knew that competencies were going to be something that, especially when you started talking about cross portfolio, partners were going to be attracted to,” said Chavez.

“What we’re seeing is a huge uplift in competencies overall. If I look at the stats, 88% of our platinum partners have already received one competency. We’re just at the middle of the year right now, and we’re seeing that people are taking the competency seriously and building out their expertise and want to sell cross portfolio,” he added.

HPE recently announced it was appointing two global distributors, TD Synnex and Ingram Micro, with Ewington saying the firm had made moves to clarify its distie approach.

“The announcement of working with global distributors doesn’t impact many of the major markets we operate in, because we already work with those distributors,” he said. “We have always embraced a landscape of global, local, regional or country players, as well as specialists, and none of that is changing.”