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HP Eases Channel Path to the Cloud

At the 2013 HP Global Partner Conference, HP made the transition to cloud computing a whole lot easier for its channel partners. The company unfurled additions to its HP Cloud Builder program, which enables HP channel partners to offer a hybrid delivery model across private, managed and public cloud environments. The extensions to the program […]

Written By

Michael Vizard

Feb 21, 2013

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At the 2013 HP Global Partner Conference, HP made the transition to cloud computing a whole lot easier for its channel partners. The company unfurled additions to its HP Cloud Builder program, which enables HP channel partners to offer a hybrid delivery model across private, managed and public cloud environments.

The extensions to the program are intended to give partners maximum flexibility when it comes to selling and deploying cloud computing solutions, said Dan Baigent, senior director of business development for HP Cloud Services. Partners can opt to deploy any mix of on-premise systems or cloud services that can be managed privately or shared on the HP public cloud.

In addition to these enhancements to the HP CloudBuilder program, the company is adding a range of services for channel partners that are currently in beta. They include the following:

HP Cloud Monitoring to identify potential issues before they affect production applications;
HP Cloud Load Balancer to optimize app response times and reduce IT management costs; and
HP Cloud DNS for translating domain names to IP addresses using a global network of servers.

Most customers are unsure what they will need when it comes to cloud computing. Many want to be able to build an application on a public cloud and then move it to a private cloud. And numerous customers want to be able to deploy an application inside their own data center that can take advantage of additional compute resources on an on-demand basis via a cloud computing service.

Given that uncertainty in the market, channel partners need a full-service cloud computing vendor as a partner, versus a provider that specializes only in public cloud computing, Baigent said.

By being able to offer a mix of services, HP partners can help customers rightsize their IT investments in a way that includes margins on product sales as well as annuities from multiyear cloud computing service contracts. Starting this summer, HP said it will expand the program to provide financial incentives for channel partners reselling HP Cloud Services.

As part of an effort to reinvigorate its channel, HP is including cloud services as a key component of an overall channel program that is making HP easier to do business with, while making its partners more profitable.

“Cloud computing is still maturing,” Baigent said. “We need to make the on-boarding process [available] for a full range of services that appeal to everyone—from the most advanced customers to customers that still don’t know which end of the cloud is up.”

Michael Vizard

Michael Vizard is a seasoned IT journalist, with nearly 30 years of experience writing and editing about enterprise IT issues. He is a writer for publications including Programmableweb, IT Business Edge, CIOinsight, Channel Insider and UBM Tech. He formerly was editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise, where he launched the company’s custom content division, and has also served as editor in chief for CRN and InfoWorld. He also has held editorial positions at PC Week, Computerworld and Digital Review.

HP Eases Channel Path to the Cloud

Michael Vizard

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