Posted by John Baugnon on Thu, Mar 04, 2010
By Chad Berndtson, ChannelWeb
5:44 PM EST Fri. Feb. 26, 2010
HP (NYSE:HPQ) ProCurve has been quietly offering a new program through which Cisco (NSDQ:CSCO)-certified solution providers can be fast-tracked for ProCurve certification if they meet certain criteria.
The program, called HP ProCurve's Accelerated training program, offers Cisco-certified VARs the opportunity to save on expensive ProCurve accreditation if they already have certain Cisco certifications, the idea being to show VARs how they can translate Cisco networking expertise into ProCurve competencies.
There are two tracks, according to a promotion on ProCurve's Website, that will help partners "double your knowledge without shrinking your wallet" and "learn about HP ProCurve and interoperability with other networking vendors."
For Cisco partners holding CCNP, CCDP, CCSP, CCIP, CCVP or CNNP Wireless certifications, ProCurve is offering to "accelerate" training to become certified as a ProCurve ASE (Accredited System Engineer) for HP ProCurve Campus LANs.
For Cisco partners holding CCIE Routing & Switching, CCDE, CCIE Security, CCIE Service Provider, CCIE Storage Networking, CCIE Voice or CCIE Wireless, ProCurve is offering "accelerated" training to become certified as Master ASE.
All that's required is for partners to spend four hours taking Web-based ProCurve training, and pass a web-based exam.
HP claims that the Accelerated program will save partners as much as $12,000 over what they'd pay for ProCurve training if they didn't come in with the stated Cisco certifications.
According to an HP spokesperson, the program was launched in October 2009.
"We have had many engineers within Cisco partners take the course and exam," the spokesperson said in a response to Channelweb.com. "From a partner recruitment standpoint, we have an active program working with them to recruit. We have received good feedback to having this certification available to help them reach the certification requirements for HP at a rapid pace."
HP declined to say how many Cisco-certified partners it had trained in the Accelerate program but said it was seeing new partners continue to take advantage.
"HP understands that you have invested your valuable time into building your networking knowledge and expertise," reads promotional copy on the ProCurve Website. "Taking that into consideration, we have an accelerated certification path available to engineers who have achieved one of the below Cisco credentials."
One Cisco (NSDQ:CSCO)-certified solution provider who requested anonymity said he was aware of the program and was "giving it some thought," though he had not yet contacted anyone at ProCurve or been personally recruited.
"I wouldn't make that big a deal of it, because the big guys do this competitive [stuff] all the time, and sometimes they talk about it and sometimes they don't," said the solution provider. "At the same time, for a reseller, it's a way to make sure your bases are covered and not have to pay through the nose necessarily. I mean, why not, right?"
The program comes at a critical time for HP (NYSE:HPQ) as it attempts to win mind and market share in the channel for ProCurve, especially now that the gulf between former friends HP and Cisco has widened into a chasm.
Cisco last week announced it would not be renewing HP's system integrator contract when it ends on April 30 -- the latest shot fired by Cisco in an increasingly contentious battle between the two tech titans.
"Over the last few years our relationship with HP has evolved from a partner to companies with different and conflicting visions of how to deliver value to customers," said Keith Goodwin, Cisco senior vice president of worldwide channels, in a video post to the Cisco Channels blog.
ProCurve's program is in line with recent moves by HP ProCurve to portray itself as an open architecture networking alternative to Cisco. At Interop in November, HP announced a new set of vendor partners for its Open Network Ecosystem (ONE) program.
HP also played up the open vs. proprietary message in its response to Cisco last week, calling Cisco's choice to not renew HP's reseller contract a proprietary move "not in the customer's best interest."
Posted by John Baugnon on Fri, Feb 11, 2005
By Joseph F. Kovar, ChannelWeb
1:27 PM EST Fri. Feb. 11, 2005
As in years past, attendees at Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ)'s partner conference next week in Las Vegas can expect to see the vendor's two huge "SAN Van" demo trucks parked near the venue.
This year, however, they will see a third, smaller truck parked between them, if all goes according to the plan of an HP solution provider that has invested in its own demo truck.
The truck, a diesel-engine 2001 Freightliner FL-70, is the brain child of Don Richie, CEO of Sequel Data Systems, an Austin, Texas-based solution provider. Richie said he's so committed to his HP relationship that he invested nearly a half-million dollars in getting it ready for the partner conference and for bringing the HP message to his corporate customers.
"It not only shows HP our value above and beyond the typical VAR, but also our value to our customers," Richie said. "We don't want to just send a demo in a box."
Instead, the box that Sequel will send on the back of its six-wheel Freightliner is actually a complete demo room stocked with more than $250,000 of HP equipment, including an Alpha-based VMS server, an Integrity server, a ProLiant Unix server, three ProLiant blade servers and three small workstations with 21-inch CRT monitors, all from HP.
Connected to the servers are an HP EVA 5000 array, an EVA 3000 array, a MSA 1500 array and a DLT tape autoloader.
The only IT gear not from HP are a couple of Dell servers. Richie said he will take the servers to customer sites to tear them down and compare their quality against that of HP.
To complete the demo room, Sequel also has two 42-inch plasma displays. Unlike the rest of the room, the plasmas carry the Sony brand. "We had ordered HP displays, but they were late," Richie said. "So we had to run out and buy the Sony displays locally."
Richie said he had been planning to do a demo truck for the past two years. He finally decided to make the investment late last year, when a doubling of Sequel's sales year over year gave him the funds to invest. The project actually started in September, when Richie bought the truck in Phoenix for $59,000. He budgeted $250,000 for the project.
"We were way over," he said. "For the demo equipment alone, we had over $225,000 worth of HP products." Building the demo room took another chunk of cash because of the engineering requirements. For instance, Richie found he had to add shock protection for all of the racks to make sure nothing came loose while the truck was being driven.
He also had to run 220VAC and 110VAC from the rear of the truck to the front. Since the walls of the truck were too thin, he ended up running the power cables through a custom raceway under the truck.
Cooling was also a major issue because of the heat generated by the HP equipment and the two plasmas, Richie said. He also added mirrors on the ceiling and walls to give an illusion of size.
Then there was the customization: stone floor (no linoleum), two plasmas (when one was adequate), a home theater system for the sound, custom upholstery and chrome wheels. "It's one of those things like a home hot rod," Richie said. "The more you do, the more you want to do. The thing had to look good. It's part of the overall image."
The total cost of the truck in the end hit nearly $500,000, including the cost of the vehicle, about $100,000 in engineering and conversion costs, $225,000 to $250,000 in HP equipment, and some investment by HP and Agilysys in financing and technical support.
Sequel will use the truck to take HP demos directly to customer sites, and it also will make it available for use by HP sales reps, Richie said.
He said he could use HP's "SAN Vans," but HP only brings them to major metropolitan areas for demonstrations to multiple potential customers. "Our customer base is successful outside the metros," he said. "A lot of these customers in the past felt a lot of manufacturers abandoned them. We put the resources there because that's where we generate the revenue."
Richie said he would advise anyone with the resources to consider building a mobile demo lab. "But don't do it halfway," he said. "Put a lot of resources into it. And whatever you budget, expect it to be double."
In the end, Richie said he has no regrets. "I'm glad I did it," he said. "My partner wouldn't let me have a hot rod, so this is it. This is my hot rod."
Posted by John Baugnon on Tue, Jun 29, 2004
VABusiness 500 Profile
By Robert Wright, ChannelWeb
11:00 AM EDT Tue. Jun. 29, 2004
How did a small-town computer- services shop that began in 1986 transform itself to a multimillion-dollar solution provider whose growth in 2003 topped rates not seen even in the late 1990s' Internet boom?
"We became extremely focused on storage, and that really grew our business," explains Don Richie, CEO of Austin, Texas-based Sequel Data Systems (No. 437 on the 2004 VARBusiness 500).
Amazingly, that growth rate--125 percent--was the highest in the company's history. But it wasn't an easy path by any stretch, according to Richie. Not only was Sequel Data facing tight IT budgets, but the proposed HP (NYSE:HPQ)-Compaq merger was causing a lot of fear and anxiety in the channel. Fortunately, Richie says, the merger process was largely painless. He gives kudos to HP for keeping the chaos to a minimum. "Things settled down last year, and suddenly business began to take off," he says.
Last year, sales for HP's StorageWorks NAS, SAN and tape-drive products blossomed for Sequel Data. And it was HP that encouraged Richie to invest in storage in the first place, in particular Mark Gonzalez, vice president of HP Network Storage Solutions for North America. "I took his advice and storage became our leading technology," he says.
As a result of increased storage sales, Richie's server business also grew last year, and the solution provider bolstered its consulting services, as well. In addition, consistent relationships with local customers are going strong. The solution provider has established a stronghold in Texas, as well as Arkansas and Oklahoma, thanks to Richie's longevity and dedication. "The salespeople and executives at HP have changed a lot over the years," he says, "but we've been the same at Sequel Data since 1986."
Now that IT spending is creeping back upward, the solution provider could be poised to make 2004 another banner year for the company's growth. "We're seeing capital investments from customers we haven't seen in three years," Richie says.