HP’s Amplify Era Starts Today
November 2, 2020
The changes made by HP to its channel program will reverberate throughout the channel as it drives digital transformation.
By Larry Walsh
Today marks the beginning of a new era at HP with the Amplify channel program’s official launch. Channel program changes and launches are commonplace, but the HP effort is different. Through this new program, HP leads the way into a new era in which data is the driver of channel strategy, partner performance, and customer experience.
HP is making a bold statement in the way it designed Amplify. While it retained many of the Partner First program’s familiar elements, it’s making progressive changes to the framework and philosophy guiding the program. I say “progressive” as the changes intend to help HP and its legions of partners worldwide meet contemporary and evolving customer expectations.
The mandate by Christoph Schell, HP’s chief commercial officer, was to make the customer the center of attention in the HP channel go-to-market equation. HP’s leadership recognizes that customers want more than a transaction of technology products but rather partners in their IT development, design, utilization, and productivity. Even with commoditized products such as PCs and printers, customers want more than pick, pack, and ship from their suppliers. Amplify aims to give them that by making data the fuel of the HP-partner relationship.
HP built Amplify on three pillars: performance (sales), capabilities (what you can do), and collaboration (data sharing). I prefer to list these pillars in a different order: Capabilities plus collaboration equals higher levels of mutual performance for HP and its partners.
HP’s changes may jar some partners, as it does away with the familiar tiers of Platinum, Gold, and Silver, replacing them with tracks known as Synergy and Power. HP is deliberate in the intent of its tracks, putting partners into groups based on their level of alignment and capabilities. Synergy is for partners that are well-aligned with HP through the sale of products, whereas Power is for partners that have advanced capabilities and agree to collaborate through data sharing.
Amplify requires Power partners to provide data on customer engagements to HP for aggregation and analysis. This requirement is a first for a company like HP. By having partners share more about how customers select, consume, and interact with products, HP will gain the ability to optimize supply chains, anticipate customer needs, and enhance the customer experience.
For partners, Amplify is a step forward in digitally transforming the channel. Through the data-sharing required under Amplify, partners will receive access to tools, resources, and intelligence that will make marketing, sales, and customer service more efficient and effective. Through the data-support resources under development, HP partners will have access to insights that will improve their decision-making and optimize their product sourcing to eliminate waste and costs. The result: a higher level of income and profitability through growth and cost savings.
The flattening of partner program tiers is a growing trend among vendors seeking to do away with the costly and complicated management of multiple layers that leave few happy. By making Amplify about capabilities and collaboration, HP is focusing on driving performance through the partners with greater abilities while providing all partners with a roadmap for future success.
The changes happening at HP are among the first across the legacy part of the IT industry. Arguably, HP could have made these changes sooner, but hindsight is always clearer. The state of transformation in the general market is high. Customers are accelerating their plans for crafting digital organizations and seek partners that can help them realize their aspirations.
By HP’s admission, Amplify is a work in progress. Today’s launch is the beginning of a journey that will see the program evolve over the next several years. Change doesn’t always come quickly, and HP and its partners will learn many lessons along the way. For now, HP is making the right changes at the right time for itself, its partners, and their mutual customers.
Larry Walsh is the CEO of The 2112 Group, a business strategy and research firm servicing the IT channel community. He’s also the publisher of Channelnomics, the leading source of channel news and trend analysis. Follow Larry on Twitter at @lmwalsh2112 and subscribe to his podcast, POD2112, on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and other leading podcast sources. You can always e-mail Larry directly at lmwalsh@the2112group.com.
DISCLOSURE: 2112, the publisher of Channelnomics, counts HP as a client and worked with the vendor on the development and launch of the HP Amplify program. The opinions expressed in this analysis are those of the author alone and do not represent HP.
HP is making a bold statement in the way it designed Amplify. While it retained many of the Partner First program’s familiar elements, it’s making progressive changes to the framework and philosophy guiding the program. I say “progressive” as the changes intend to help HP and its legions of partners worldwide meet contemporary and evolving customer expectations.
The mandate by Christoph Schell, HP’s chief commercial officer, was to make the customer the center of attention in the HP channel go-to-market equation. HP’s leadership recognizes that customers want more than a transaction of technology products but rather partners in their IT development, design, utilization, and productivity. Even with commoditized products such as PCs and printers, customers want more than pick, pack, and ship from their suppliers. Amplify aims to give them that by making data the fuel of the HP-partner relationship.
HP built Amplify on three pillars: performance (sales), capabilities (what you can do), and collaboration (data sharing). I prefer to list these pillars in a different order: Capabilities plus collaboration equals higher levels of mutual performance for HP and its partners.
HP’s changes may jar some partners, as it does away with the familiar tiers of Platinum, Gold, and Silver, replacing them with tracks known as Synergy and Power. HP is deliberate in the intent of its tracks, putting partners into groups based on their level of alignment and capabilities. Synergy is for partners that are well-aligned with HP through the sale of products, whereas Power is for partners that have advanced capabilities and agree to collaborate through data sharing.
Amplify requires Power partners to provide data on customer engagements to HP for aggregation and analysis. This requirement is a first for a company like HP. By having partners share more about how customers select, consume, and interact with products, HP will gain the ability to optimize supply chains, anticipate customer needs, and enhance the customer experience.
For partners, Amplify is a step forward in digitally transforming the channel. Through the data-sharing required under Amplify, partners will receive access to tools, resources, and intelligence that will make marketing, sales, and customer service more efficient and effective. Through the data-support resources under development, HP partners will have access to insights that will improve their decision-making and optimize their product sourcing to eliminate waste and costs. The result: a higher level of income and profitability through growth and cost savings.
The flattening of partner program tiers is a growing trend among vendors seeking to do away with the costly and complicated management of multiple layers that leave few happy. By making Amplify about capabilities and collaboration, HP is focusing on driving performance through the partners with greater abilities while providing all partners with a roadmap for future success.
The changes happening at HP are among the first across the legacy part of the IT industry. Arguably, HP could have made these changes sooner, but hindsight is always clearer. The state of transformation in the general market is high. Customers are accelerating their plans for crafting digital organizations and seek partners that can help them realize their aspirations.
By HP’s admission, Amplify is a work in progress. Today’s launch is the beginning of a journey that will see the program evolve over the next several years. Change doesn’t always come quickly, and HP and its partners will learn many lessons along the way. For now, HP is making the right changes at the right time for itself, its partners, and their mutual customers.
Larry Walsh is the CEO of The 2112 Group, a business strategy and research firm servicing the IT channel community. He’s also the publisher of Channelnomics, the leading source of channel news and trend analysis. Follow Larry on Twitter at @lmwalsh2112 and subscribe to his podcast, POD2112, on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, and other leading podcast sources. You can always e-mail Larry directly at lmwalsh@the2112group.com.
DISCLOSURE: 2112, the publisher of Channelnomics, counts HP as a client and worked with the vendor on the development and launch of the HP Amplify program. The opinions expressed in this analysis are those of the author alone and do not represent HP.
