Avnet launches HP ‘Drive the Deal’ initiative

The HP 'Drive the Deal' initiative is available through a dedicated website: Avnet-HPVolume.co.uk, and acts as a guide for partners on the diverse range of HP storage offerings. In light of the move toward converged and hyper-converged infrastructure, it provides partners with the knowledge and expertise to select best-of-breed solutions to help them develop their HP businesses.

To support this launch, Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA is running a series of SolutionsPath™ University events in the UK, Germany and Austria, aimed at sales and pre-sales partner representatives. Avnet's HP Converged Systems & StoragePath™ University is being held on Thursday this week (26th March 2015) at Mercedes Benz World, Weybridge, Surrey, UK. This one-day course, led by experienced IT professionals from Avnet and HP, focuses on the latest trends in the storage market to provide partners with the skills, tools and contacts to build and sustain a profitable, long-term storage and converged systems business.

Avnet is also offering partners demonstration systems for testing and training purposes, and to conduct “proof of concepts” at client premises. A HP 7440c 3PARStoreServ full flash demonstration system equipped with a 16 GB FC infrastructure is available today, which helps deliver the performance of a specially developed flash-optimised architecture without compromising resilience, efficiency or data mobility. From the beginning of April, Avnet will also make available a hyper-converged system – the HP ConvergedSystem 200-HC StoreVirtual. It is designed with application and hypervisor integration with VMware best practices in mind and provides 99.999% high availability for business continuity.

Andrew Stuart, HP business unit manager at Avnet Technology Solutions, UK, said, “We’ve launched Drive the Deal in collaboration with industry leader, HP, to not only support partners in the deals they’re working on but to drive true, long-term investment in expanding and extending their in-house capabilities for future growth. This initiative helps us work with partners to create leads and opportunities using industry-leading marketing tools, lead classification, and experienced qualification. We can support partners to manage opportunities through our proven account, logistics and finance support. With a perfect combination of product knowledge, industry expertise and personal commitment, we offer our partners individual IT solutions to help them exploit their market potential and improve their business success.”

Chris Johnson, VP GM Storage EMEA at HP commented, “This business relationship demonstrates our commitment to offering partners best-in-class support and technology resources to accelerate business growth. SolutionsPath™ offers ongoing, practical support and an exclusive knowledge-base of educational materials to help partners become storage experts bringing business benefits to their customers.”

Through the website, in close collaboration with HP, Avnet facilitates access to configuration and pricing tools that simplify the process of selling. Partners can drive their HP businesses forward through:

· HP promotions
· Avnet special offers
· Quotation and configuration tools
· Discounted pricing tools
· HP reward programmes... and more