The VAR Guy

At the HP Global Partner Conference next week, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman will have the opportunity to engage and energize partners. But the event will also serve as a proving ground for Whitman and HP. Indeed, some partners want further assurances that HP is back on track after the company lost its way in 2011. Here’s a preview from The VAR Guy.

When 2012 arrived, thousands of Hewlett-Packard employees likely offered a collective sigh of relief. No doubt, those HP employees — and plenty of channel partners — were ready to bury 2011, which was filled with missteps. Now it’s time to look ahead and wonder: Can recently installed HP CEO Meg Whitman continue to bring order to the executive ranks while delivering clear communications to customers, partners and Wall Street? The answers will emerge in February. Here’s why.

Welcome to 2012. The first IT trend of the New Year:  Many high-tech companies enter 2012 with new or recently named CEOs (examples include AMD, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard and IBM). Plus, a lengthy list of prominent CEOs (representing Cisco Systems, Dell, Microsoft, Oracle and Research in Motion) are under pressure to boost sales, profits and channel partner success. Here’s what channel partners should expect.

Judgment Day apparently is just around the corner for Hewlett-Packard’s WebOS tablet and smartphone operating system. Piece together statements from HP, and it sounds like CEO Meg Whitman will disclose some sort of WebOS update — live or die — today or sometime the week of December 12. But ultimately, WebOS’s fate may have been sealed when HP killed its associated WebOS TouchPad tablet and smartphone strategy.

Roughly 1,600 people are attending this week’s IT Nation conference, hosted by ConnectWise in Orlando, Fla. Known in its early years as a gathering place for managed services providers (MSPs), the IT Nation conference has significantly expanded its messaging to engage resellers and VARs as well. Here’s why.

Sources told The Wall Street Journal that Hewlett-Packard is rethinking a potential plan to spin off HP PSG, the $40 billion PC business. The sources indicate that spinning off the PC business will hurt HP’s supply chain. Ironically, Dell CEO Michael Dell made that very statement about HP during last week’s Oracle OpenWorld. Here’s the recap.

It’s Columbus Day here in the U.S., which means many businesses are closed for the holiday. But The VAR Guy is plugging away and in catch-up mode. In fact, here are six pieces of high-tech news for channel partners that The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending Oct. 7, 2011.

At Oracle OpenWorld, Channel Chief Judson Althoff said he wants to boost Oracle’s partner ranks to 25,000 companies, up from 20,000 today. To do so, Oracle will likely raid the Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft partner channels. Althoff didn’t exactly mention those rivals by name, but he said enough to put both companies in Oracle’s crosshairs. Here are nine highlights from Althoff and Oracle Partner Forum, part of Oracle OpenWorld (Oct. 2-6, San Francisc0).

New HP CEO Meg Whitman and HP Chairman Ray Lane say they are committed to Hewlett-Packard‘s $120 billion hardware business. Whitman and Lane made the statement to appease customer and partner concerns during an investor call today. But here’s the challenge: HP CFO Catherine (Cathie) Lesjak is cautious about HP hardware sales, though Lesjak sounded confident HP will hit Q4 earnings projections.

Hewlett-Packard Chairman Ray Lane (pictured) defended HP’s decision to name Meg Whitman CEO without conducting an extensive review (internal and external) of potential HP CEO candidates. Lane said he’s “embarrassed” by poor HP communications in recent weeks. But Lane said former CEO Leo Apotheker, who exited HP today, had three shortcomings that triggered HP’s “absolutely necessary” CEO change. Lane did not address the key issue of anonymous sources — apparently within HP — and media leaks that undermined Apotheker’s leadership in recent months.

Hewlett-Packard has named Meg Whitman president and CEO, replacing Leo Apotheker, whose 11-month tenure as HP CEO was marked by strategic shifts and media leaks that damaged the company’s credibility with some investors, customers and channel partners. Former Oracle President Ray Lane also becomes HP’s executive chairman. After two days of rumors, HP confirmed the executive changes a few minutes ago.

An open letter to Hewlett-Packard Board Member and potential CEO Meg Whitman: Some members of the media suggest HP’s board will name you to succeed CEO Leo Apotheker as soon as today. Either way, you’re an HP board member and there’s one simple but strategic step you absolutely must take today. Here it is.

Meg Whitman will be named Hewlett-Packard‘s CEO later today, succeeding Leo Apotheker, reports All Things D. If true, Whitman faces multiple challenges. Inside HP, Whitman must unite an executive team that has been bruised and battered by media storms. Outside of HP, Whitman must convince investors, customers and channel partners that Hewlett-Packard is a reliable, predictable technology partner. Plus, Whitman must ensure HP’s executive team can execute a long-term strategy without battling media leaks that constantly distract the company.

Hewlett-Packard‘s board may fire CEO Leo Apotheker, according to multiple mainstream media reports. Apotheker faces intense pressure as HP navigates strategic and profit challenges. Apotheker has made some controversial moves but he isn’t HP’s biggest problem. Instead, the biggest issue facing HP involves media leaks that undermine confidence in the company and Apotheker’s management team.

From Microsoft BUILD to Intel Developers Forum to HP announcements from Senior VP Stephen DiFranco, it was a busy week for the IT channel. And there’s plenty of channel partner program news The VAR Guy still needs to write. So, here are six blogs The VAR Guy still hopes to pursue in the hours and days ahead.

And so it begins. After a bleak summer that included 6,500 job cuts, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is working hard to raise its voice and rally partners. Channel Chief Edison Peres has issued a video blog to crystallize the company’s partner strategy. Andrew Sage, Cisco’s VP, Partner Led, is set to provide strategy updates soon. And CEO John Chambers (pictured) recently rallied the Cisco sales force to further support partners. All of the chatter includes Cisco executives talking about the “Next Cisco.” But has the Next Cisco really arrived?

Dell Global Channel Chief Greg Davis (pictured) has been on the phone with partners in recent days, discussing Hewlett-Packard’s decision to try and sell off or spin off its PC business. Based on that news, Dell is preparing to put some messaging out to HP partners. Here’s a preview.

Sometimes a tongue-in-cheek comment can actually be a bright idea. A case in point: When Hewlett-Packard last week announced plans to sell or spin-off its PC business, Michael Dell offered the following tweet: “If HP spins off their PC business….maybe they will call it Compaq?” The VAR Guy chuckled at first. But after a bit of thought our resident blogger realized HP should consider bringing back the old Compaq name. Either way, HP’s PC strategy going forward involves plenty of risks to HP’s printer and server businesses, and processor relationships. Here’s why.

The news that HP is set to sell or spin-off its consumer electronics division has rocked the industry, fueling an onslaught of speculation and commentary. But for The VAR Guy, here’s one question comes to mind: Will Microsoft be able to work as closely with Hewlett-Packard’s PC division as the HP seeks to either spin-off the PC business or sell it to a third-party?

As Hewlett-Packard attempts to exit the PC market, some critics wonder if HP remains committed to small business customers and SMB channel partners. The VAR Guy’s answer: Yes, HP absolutely remains committed to SMB. But there’s going to be some turbulence ahead for HP’s SMB channel pros. Here’s why.

The top three IT problems plaguing SMBs are all related to hardware, according to a recent survey from Wakefield Research that was sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. The problems involve low-performing hardware (46%), out-of-date hardware (37%) and unreliable hardware (23%), leading to suboptimal computing efficiency and an overall loss of productivity.

The VAR Guy hopes to watch this evening’s Miami Heat-Chicago Bulls Game 3 showdown. But before our resident blogger turns his attention to South Beach, Miami, here are six channel partner-related blog entries that The VAR Guy didn’t have time to write for the week ending May 20, 2011.

There’s another knock on the door. This time it’s Meaghan Kelly, VP of strategy and SMB at Hewlett-Packard. Kelly is sitting down with The VAR Guy in San Francisco to offer some updates on HP’s channel strategy, cloud and business relationships. Here’s the conversation…