HP has announced new programs and business models, designed to simplify its initiatives for partners.

Speaking at the HP Global Partner Conference in Las Vegas, CEO Meg Whitman said the company will invest around US$1.5 billion into the plan, in an attempt to deliver greater consistency in partner engagement.

“Our goal is to deliver a consistent experience that will make it easier for partners to buy, sell and grow profitably with HP,” Whitman said.

“HP has built one of the industry’s broadest partner ecosystems and we will continue to make significant investments to deliver the greatest business value for HP and our partners.”

Whitman says the company plans to make the channel program investment this year, aimed at rewarding performance, driving demand and simplifying partner engagement.

Rolling out the initiatives on May 1, the HP PartnerOne program aims to generate new leads, increase demand for products and services, mine existing business and essentially make the sale.

Other changes include:

· Implementing a simplified, consistent compensation model that removes rebate revenue gates and caps to improve partner revenue predictability.

· Increasing rebates for higher specialist designations, delivering more opportunities to increase profitability.

· Extending the amount of time partners have to use their marketing development funds (MDF) from three months to six months, providing more flexibility around both marketing activities and cash flow.

· Rationalising and simplifying sales and technical certifications in the HP ExpertOne training platform, while maintaining the integrity of individual certifications and making it easier for partners to gain the sales and technical skills to competently service and support HP customers.

HP also plans to make a significant IT investments to roll out its new Unison platform, a platform aimed at helping the speed, security, targeting and breadth of communications and joint business planning with channel partners.