HPE Introduces Its First Everything-as-a-Service Channel Program

Highlights:

• The HPE Partner Ready Vantage program is an end-to-end edge-to-cloud channel program that, for the first time, combines the HPE and Aruba portfolios.
• The initiative accommodates partners that integrate, sell or provide services around Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s as-a-service portfolio.

As part of an ambitious GreenLake on-premises cloud service ecosystems build-out, Hewlett Packard Enterprise recently introduced its first Everything-as-a-Service channel program.

The all-new unified Everything-as-a-Service program includes all of GreenLake’s partners, ranging from influencers who don’t want to sell hardware to ISVs and born-in-the-cloud providers to traditional partners who develop to offer their own powered by GreenLake services.

The HPE Partner Ready Vantage program that for the first time, combines the HPE and Aruba portfolios in an end-to-end edge-to-cloud channel program.

HPE GreenLake and Aruba products are offered on the new Partner Ready Vantage platform. Additionally, the foundation of the first Centers of Expertise is Aruba’s managed services, professional services, and customer success offerings for HPE GreenLake Network as a Service.

“We are the edge-to-cloud Platform-as-a-Service company, and we are now introducing an edge-to-cloud partner program,” said HPE Vice President of Worldwide Partner Programs and Operations Jesse Chavez.

The three-year “North Star” vision and framework for the GreenLake environment is the starting point of Partner Ready Vantage. The program will be launched in stages, with the first details being available on November 1 at the beginning of HPE’s new fiscal year.

For the time being, HPE will continue to offer its Partner Ready program along with the usual GreenLake incentives, such as the 17% upfront refund on GreenLake purchases.

According to Chavez, the ecosystem drive is intended to encourage partners to offer their own branded services and intellectual property on the GreenLake cloud platform. “We are going to reward partners for the customer life cycle whether it is land, adopt, expand or renew,’ said Chavez.

The ecosystem program aims to make it possible and encourage partners to remain active across the customer life cycle, from acquiring the client to implementing services to growing and integrating new cloud services to ultimately renewing the cloud services relationship.

“At the end of the day, a partner wants to acquire the customer, but they want to have a relationship for life,” said Chavez. “I think you’ll also see that our program recognizes that a partner participates in the entire life cycle—unlike other programs you have seen in the marketplace.”

According to Chavez, the program is directed toward partners who are “evolving to as-a-service and establishing their services” around the GreenLake edge-to-cloud services platform. “Having the partners delivering their own branded services on top of GreenLake is going to be the key as we go forward,” he said.

According to Chavez, the GreenLake ecosystem channel program focuses on creating, integrating, and offering services and commercial outcomes with GreenLake than selling hardware.

A Break from Tradition

According to Chavez, the ecosystem program represents a significant departure from conventional medallion-based programs that categorize partners into specific partner categories, such as reseller, systems integrator, or managed services provider. According to Chavez, partners will have a variety of personas in the ecosystem, including influencers, advisors, resellers, systems integrators, and even independent software vendors.

“Partners are going to have multiple personas as we go forward and multiple business models to support that,” said Chavez. “That will be a critical piece that we need to start recognizing. It is not about what they are called but what they do: They either embed, build, provide services they are selling, they integrate. It is more the verbs that we are moving to versus the classifications we give partners.”

According to Chavez, for the first time, the unified program honors advisers and influencers who are active in the Everything-as-a-Service industry. ISVs and born-in-the-cloud providers who don’t want to resell hardware can leverage the GreenLake opportunity through Partner Ready Vantage.

“We are working with partners to help them build out their practices around these areas, so we’re providing much more deep enablement that is more practice-building-focused versus just product- and solutions-based training,” said Beth Jensen, director of worldwide channel partner programs at Aruba.

Partners Can Decide to Choose HPE Or Aruba

It is up to the partners to decide whether they want to deliver their services under their brand or the HPE GreenLake or Aruba, said Jensen. “We’re enabling them to drive their own services business moving forward,” she said.

The build track is intended for partners who integrate with HPE technology, using “tested and prepackaged solutions” from HPE and HPE partners, including ISVs. Partners who use HPE open platforms to create their applications are included. The sell track is developed to help partners expand their as-a-service businesses by providing value-added solutions across the whole HPE portfolio.

The service track is made for partners wishing to market services over the customer life cycle, including consulting, assessment, design, integration, deployment, migration, support, and management. Over the coming year, partners can gain access to new Hybrid Cloud Service Centers of Expertise and Centers of Expertise for the build and sell tracks.

According to HPE Worldwide Channel Chief and Head of Partner Sales George Hope, HPE is “doubling down” on partners that are quickly adapting to deliver consumption-based cloud services to customers while simultaneously maintaining the core Partner Ready channel program for those who are not ready to make the big GreenLake cloud services bet.

“We want to make sure that we are leading the charge in helping the ones that are ready to evolve today, and we also have a home for those that still have customers that are focused more on our core offerings,” he said. “So we are trying to double down on the ones ready today without leaving the rest behind.”