"Customers complain when different people come in and say they work for different groups within HP," Gonzalez said. "Customers say, 'Whoa, you're confusing me. ... I just want to deal with one person carrying an HP card.' "
The focus on customer needs and customer types has a particularly strong advantage for the channel, Gonzalez said. HP has about 12,000 accounts in the United States with more than 1,000 employees each. Of those, the company focuses its direct sales on about 750 customers, but they are still open to work with the channel if they choose.
"If HP focuses on 750 customers, then there are many accounts serviced exclusively by the channel where it's to HP's disadvantage to go direct," he said. "There is absolutely no way HP can lead direct in any more cases."
As customers look to consolidate suppliers, it makes sense for them to also consolidate their server and storage purchases on a single supplier, Gonzalez said. "Over 50 percent of server dollars are spent on storage, according to IDC," he said. "If we don't offer storage with our ProLiant servers, we are selling half a loaf of bread. The easiest customer to deal with is an existing customer."
By combining storage and server sales into a single organization but keeping specialists in specific areas such as Unix servers or Superdome servers, HP and its partners are better able to focus specifically on customer requirements, said Gonzalez.
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