In November 2019, HP launched its new commercial organisation - a move designed to accelerate its expansion in services and bolster its channel ecosystem. UK managing director George Brasher shares what this means for the channel in the UK&I market
How important is the channel to the HP business?
The numbers speak for themselves - since 2016, our channel revenue has grown by over $10bn (£7.4bn). Globally, nearly 90 per cent of our business is now driven through the channel. Because of this, our commitment to our network of resellers and distributors has never been stronger - and the opportunity to shape the tech sector together, never greater.
The industry is going through a period of significant change. Business models are shifting from a product and transaction model to the development of outcomes and solutions. This is driving new expectations from our customers, particularly when it comes to convenience, customisation, security and sustainability.
We feel that HP's strategy, along with its vibrant channel ecosystem, means we're well placed to continue leading these industry trends.
What advantages will the new commercial organisation bring?
Our new commercial organisation - which moves the company from a three-region structure to a set of 10 geographical markets - is simpler, more agile, and has been designed with customers and partners in mind. Simply put, we're making it easier to do business with HP by driving efficiency and accelerating decision-making.
In practice, this will bring significant investments in tools and processes that will help us to be more digitally informed, therefore enhancing collaboration with our channel partners. By employing smarter tools, we'll be driving a digital transformation within the business, all to establish a stronger and more advanced HP and partner ecosystem.
Curating a new operating model and expanding our digital capabilities will prompt further growth, driven by data-led insights. For instance, partners in the supplies, MPS, DaaS, retail and services sectors will have better opportunities to cross-pollinate their business with new revenue streams.
The benefits of our renewed focus on services are already being seen. MPS partners are now starting to sell DaaS. In Print, we've launched Workpath to seamlessly integrate paper and digital workstreams. In Personal Systems, we've just unveiled ZCentral - the world's only single-source remote workstation solution. And in 3D, this month we announced our new HP 3D-as-a-Service (3DaaS) offering, allowing customers to automatically replenish their HP 3D supplies in a move which helps customers scale to mass production.
How does the new strategy translate across your various business units?
It allows us to ensure our various portfolios continue to deliver on customer needs. In our Personal Systems business, we're genuinely reinventing computer experiences. Our new sub-one kilo, security-packed, business convertible - the HP Elite Dragonfly - is a perfect example of how we are preparing people for the future of work. We know that today's mobile business professionals need to move freely for work - whether that's between conference rooms, campuses, airports or rideshares. Launching the ultralight Elite Dragonfly marks a new era of secure mobility.
In print we're taking aggressive actions to pivot the business and rebalance the profit mix of hardware, supplies and services. As for our industrial businesses, we're in a strong position in Graphics (especially via our large format Latex and Stitch printing ranges) as well as 3D, having built end-to-end solutions that match the evolving demands of our clients and their customers.
What can we expect to see from HP moving forwards?
Moving forwards, HP will be more customer-focused, digitally powered and data-driven. The choices we make right now are all with an eye to the future, to set the company on the right course and position HP so it can continue to lead with innovation and execute with purpose. We are transforming from a position of strength: it's about building on our recent progress and capitalising on future opportunities so that we continue to grow.
We have a great team, a great strategy and the imagination needed to prosper. We are incredibly excited about what the future holds for HP as we write this next chapter.
