Channel Partners to Help HP Fulfill New $160 Million California IT Contract

Solution integrators Western Blue and Insight Enterprises Inc. will collaborate with Hewlett-Packard Co. to fulfill a $160 million, two-year contract awarded to the vendor by the State of California to supply its agencies with personal computer products, services and support.

The contract was granted by the State’s Department of General Services and includes HP’s notebooks, desktops, workstations and tablets. It is valued up to $80 million annually with options that could extend the agreement for two additional one-year periods.

In referring to the contract as a “refreshed PC environment,” HP hit upon a chord—that an aging computer infrastructure will prompt a timely uptick in purchases next year-- repeatedly struck by leading IT manufacturers in recent weeks.

Under terms of the contract, Western Blue and Insight will provide pre-sales, sales and back office support to the State in a pre-determined arrangement. Insight will be responsible for back office systems--including billing, collections and inside sales--while Western Blue will provide pre-sales and sales support.

HP will supply the State’s agencies directly with its PC products. Western Blue and Insight will operate as HP agents with each receiving a fee for purchases by state agencies associated with the contract. HP pays its agents about 5 percent of a sale’s value.

The deal encompasses agencies statewide, including health care, public safety and education.

Western Blue, a privately-held HP channel partner based in Sacramento, CA, has allocated 20 dedicated representatives to support the contract, said Chari Darneal, Western Blue vice president of communications.

Darneal said that Western Blue, Insight and HP operated as “joint partners to put the contract together.”

Companies have collaborated previously

Western Blue has collaborated with HP on State of California IT contracts for about five years. It currently participates with Insight and HP in a similar engagement with the State, in which HP provides its printers to California agencies and the solution integrators carry out service and support requirements.

In July, Western Blue, along with HP, was awarded a California public sector IT contract for workgroup servers. The two companies maintain a dedicated e-commerce web site for State of California contracts.

Insight, based in Phoenix, AZ, provides IT hardware, software and services to large enterprises, small- and medium-sized businesses and the public sector. The company posted sales of $4.8 billion last year.

Western Blue and Insight are among some 220 channel partners qualified by HP to sell to public sector accounts.

An HP official pointed to the vendor’s successful history in fulfilling IT contracts as a key factor in winning the deal.

“HP is proud to help the State of California answer the call for competitive pricing, always-improving security, energy efficiency, transparency and streamlined operations in government,” said Stephen DeWitt, HP senior vice president, personal systems group.

Officials said that the vendor’s eco-friendly position in areas such as product design, reuse and recycling, and energy and resource efficiency, maps to the State’s requirements and contributed to its securing the award.