Hewlett Packard drops three Australian disties

Hewlett Packard Enterprise has shaken up its distribution roster in Australia, with Synnex and Avnet losing HPE, Westcon losing Aruba – and Dicker Data, Distribution Central, Ingram Micro and Lynx Technologies all gaining access to the combined HPE and Aruba portfolio. 

In New Zealand, the new distribution line-up comprises Exeed, Ingram Micro and Sektor. In both countries, Sektor will only sell the networking range, combining HPE and Aruba.

The new distribution arrangements will go live on 1 May 2016. The announcement comes after weeks of waiting among the vendor's nine distributors across Australia and New Zealand, six covering HPE and three brought over via the vendor's US$2.7 billion acquisition of Aruba in March 2015.

HPE was unwilling to share the outcome of the review with CRN, however, an email sent by acting channel manager Nicholas Lambrou to resellers confirmed the overhauled list.

"Subsequent to the recent acquisition of Aruba, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Group undertook an RFI (Request For Information) process to review and optimise the combined distribution framework available to our valued resellers. The aim was to consolidate and better serve the channel in South Pacific.

"Existing HPE and Aruba partners were asked to participate in the RFI process. After an extensive review by an RFI panel consisting of delegates from across the organisation, the decisions have been reached with respect to which of the existing distributors will be appointed as HPE distributors moving forward, providing products for the combined Enterprise Group solutions, including Aruba.

This RFI did not include the HPE Software business unit and those distributors currently distributing HPE Software are not impacted by this RFI announcement.

I am pleased to announce the following distributors have been successful and will be partnering with HPE from 1 May 2016:

The reshuffle has some distinct winners and losers, given the size of HPE's market presence and importance among its distributors. The entire portfolio includes a vast range of servers, storage and networking solutions – both HPE's networking product set and technology brought across from Aruba.

Next: Winners and losers

The outcome of the review is bad news for Synnex and Avnet, which both held the full HPE portfolio.

Synnex was the most recent distributor appointed to the enterprise portfolio when it scored the account in in August 2014, during the tenure of now-departed channel manager Kaaren Lewis. Synnex continues to be a major partner of HP Inc, which was previously the PCs and printer division of the combined HP.

Avnet is a significant global partner of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. In Australia, HPE sat alongside a growing converged systems practice at Avnet, which has been bolstered with the addition of vendors such as Nutanix and Tintri, alongside enterprise infrastructure solutions vendors like IBM, Oracle and EMC.

Westcon also missed out as part of the review. The distie was an Aruba distributor alongside Distribution Central and Sektor, though did not distribute HPE.

The streamlined roster will be good news for the six disties who made the cut. Fewer distributors should mean less aggressive competition around HPE.

David Dicker, chief executive of the largest HPE and HP Inc distributor in Australia, told CRN: "We’re very pleased with this outcome and believe HPE have made the right decision. The rationalisation to the distribution line-up went beyond our expectations and has reaffirmed the strength of our continued partnership."

The Ingram relationship is a global alliance that has been in place for many years. In fact, when global chief executive Meg Whitman rung the bell to debut Hewlett Packard Enterprise on the New York Stock Exchange, she was joined by Ingram Micro CEO Alain Monie.

Ingram's Australian managing director, Matt Sanderson, told CRN that he was "delighted" to retain the account as well as "gain access to the exciting Aruba portfolio, allowing us to continue to provide our customers with a deep enterprise range accompanied with the services required to support them in their business".

Sydney's Lynx Technologies has provided the vendor’s server, storage and networking range for many years, having represented Hewlett Packard storage range for over two decades. 

Managing director John Gabor told CRN: "Lynx is extremely pleased to have retained distributorship of the HPE portfolio. In this rapidly evolving IT and business environment, we believe the HPE portfolio and solutions are uniquely positioned to empower our resellers to best serve, or even transform, their customers."

Distribution Central specialises in disruptive technology, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise will mark the biggest, broadest enterprise IT vendor on its books.

HPE will be hoping the refreshed roster can beef up its performance, given the company chalked up year after year of losses in Australia before its mammoth separation. According to documents lodged with corporate regulator ASIC while HP was still a joined company, the local subsidiary of the global giant recorded a net loss of $152 million in its 2014 financial year ended October 2014.

The followed a $270 million loss in fiscal 2013, and a $58 million loss in 2012.