Scale Plays for HP Storage Resellers with Free Training and Financial Incentives

Scale Computing, an Indianapolis, IN-based storage provider, recently said that it will supply Hewlett-Packard Co. channel partners with free technical, sales and marketing training, and $350 in financial incentives to jump ship to the vendor’s new partner program.

The storage vendor believes that HP’s new certification requirements for channel partners, specifically for its P4000 storage-area-network (SAN) solution for small- and medium-sized businesses, will hamper channel partners.

Last month, HP added a specialty certification for channel partners selling its P4000 solutions which it acquired in 2009 with its acquisition of LeftHand Networks Inc. The P4000, which HP is aiming at midmarket customers, offers scalable storage software on industry standard hardware.

“These new VAR certifications announced by HP will bring more challenges to those VARs in serving their core SME customers,” said Peter Fuller, vice president of marketing and business development at Scale Computing.

“We want to extend our support to those affected VARs and introduce them to our 100 percent channel, 5-star partner program – complete with web-based education, online sales training, and full marketing support,” he said.

“The tools and support of our partner program, combined with our scale-out, unified storage products specifically tailored to the budgets of the SME market and their virtualization needs, will reinforce their own SME strategy and exceed their customers’ expectations,” said Fuller.

Scale recently rolled out a new, four-tier partner program. Under its channel structure, all partners receive technical training on deploying and managing its storage solutions, gain access to a partner portal and support. Preferred partners are granted a listing in a Partner Opportunity Guide for joint marketing and resources, a marketing roadmap, market development funds and sales leads.