Hewlett
Packard Enterprise (HPE) today announced dedicated relief initiatives
for partners in support of business continuity in the wake of COVID-19.
Businesses
across the world are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and HPE
has taken action to help minimize current and future business disruption
for its channel partners. These new interim initiatives have been
specifically designed to relieve financial pressure on HPE partners and
assist with business continuity planning. They join a number of new
financial relief programs offered by HPE Financial Services as part of a $2 billion allocation to help customers and partners.
"Our
partners are at the core of HPE, so when they are facing potential
challenges, it's our duty to step up and be a pillar of support," said
Paul Hunter, HPE Worldwide Head of Partner Sales. "Whether it's helping
them drive business as usual, relieve financial pressure, or simply
giving them peace of mind during this time, our aim is to have a
thriving ecosystem better able to meet customer needs"
Financial and support initiatives available to HPE partners include:
Program Changes to Support Financial Planning
- HPE Partner Ready Revenue Threshold Suspension -
To provide stability for partners facing financial uncertainty, HPE has
suspended the revenue targets required for partners to maintain their
status in the HPE Hybrid IT Partner Ready program for 2021 eligibility,
as well as the Aruba Partner Ready for Networking Program. During 2020,
both of these programs will focus on enabling partners and helping them
meet training and certification goals.
Providing Buying Partners with Liquidity
- Improvement in Early Pay Discount Terms -
To alleviate COVID-related liquidity pressures, from May 1 until July
31, 2020 distributors and service providers in North America that do not
participate in factoring programs can take advantage of extended Early
Pay Discount terms to improve their working capital and cash positions.
- Improvement in Factoring Terms -
Within the same timeframe, HPE will extend payment terms from 60 to 90
days in North America and Europe for participants in existing enhanced
factoring programs.
- Suspending SDI Targets -
To improve predictability of earnings, HPE has temporarily suspended or
significantly reduced Strategic Development Initiative (SDI) targets in
most geographies, thus providing a pay-out for distributors from $1 at
or near the full percentage rebate target.
Hybrid IT Partner Propositions for Customers
Continuing Partner Enablement with Virtual Solutions
To
support partners' continued learning, HPE is introducing the HPE Sales
Pro Learning Center in May, a new sales enablement experience with
trainings and micro-learnings, helping sales leaders develop the
sophisticated skills needed to sell consumption propositions and
solutions.
Partners
also benefit from HPE's newly developed, industry-first practical exam
methodology - an innovative virtual delivery that won this year's IT Certification Council Innovation Award.
Moreover, partners can continue to participate in HPE events that have
been converted into virtual experiences. Moving forward, as announced by Antonio Neri, HPE Discover 2020 and HPE Partner Growth Summit (PGS) will convert from an in-person event to HPE Discover 2020 Digital Experience on June 22, with a global audience.
Virtual
demonstrations and Proofs of Concept are now possible via the no-cost,
self-serve Demonstration Portal - including a number of short,
pre-recorded lab demos for partners and customers - and virtual tours of
the HPE Briefing Centers.