According to a recent Canalys survey, partners rated rebates, deal registration and lead generation among the most important benefits of a partner program.
Focusing on what matters to partners, HP has responded with easy, online access to new and improved resources that enable partners to win new business, track compensation and develop joint business plans. These tools have led to increased partner scores for ease of doing business, according to a recent survey of HP partners.
“Partners want to work with vendors that make it easy to do business together,” said Heather Murray, vice president, Product Marketing, HP Solutions Group, Tech Data. “The HP Unison Platform has helped our partners effectively navigate all aspects of the selling cycle, from developing joint business plans with HP to demand generation and compensation management. Through the platform, Tech Data is further enabling solution providers to capture new opportunities that exist in the market, helping them gain efficiencies and improve profitability.”
In collaboration with partners, HP has built and deployed new HP Unison Platform tools that change the way partners buy, sell, and work with HP.
•Building on its best-in-class opportunity management capability, HP redesigned its registration, quoting and pricing processes. The new HP Discount Now and HP QuickQuote solutions enable partner to quickly and efficiently close opportunities.
•The new MyComp Optimizer tool provides partners with greater clarity, helping them to better manage and forecast their compensation and rewards. Improvements include a single source to view and monitor payments, increased transparency into program performance capabilities and the ability to simulate performance to optimize compensation, improve predictability and maximize payments.
•Enhanced lead and opportunity management provides new structured process for passing and managing leads, a single location for reviewing, editing and updating opportunities, a shared view of the pipeline, and visibility to deals in process by HP.
•The new market development fund (MDF) tool makes it easier for partners to optimize and track their MDF dollars, helping them increase their marketing return on investment. Improvements include enhanced guidelines, integration with the joint business planning structure, automated tracking, improved reporting, and a streamlined claims process.
•The Co-Marketing Zone provides partners with easy access to the assets they need, enabling them to efficiently create marketing materials that drive demand.
•New joint business planning processes and tools support shared growth and greater collaboration. Improvements include a consistent planning structure across HP that facilitates goal setting, a single place to track KPIs, and quarterly reviews to help meet collaborative objectives.
The new tools will be available through the updated HP Unison Partner Portal, which gives partners access to all the tools and resources that they need from HP through a simple, customizable interface, available 24 hours a day from desktop or mobile. In a recent survey of HP partners, 88 percent of those who have tried the portal designated it “best in class.”
The HP Unison Partner Portal has been deployed to Platinum, Gold and Silver PartnerOne partners in more than 125 countries and will be deployed to additional partners later this fall.