HP’s support recommendation stays in-house

Third-party 3000-MPE service alternatives still undecided

HP wants its customers using HP 3000s to know that third party support for the systems is not yet an option the vendor is recommending. But the head of the HP 3000 business said the vendor is still listening for customer needs on this question: Who will service the systems beyond 2006, when HP’s support offerings are scheduled to end?

HP’s Dave Wilde, the head of HP’s 3000 business operations and the group the company calls its “virtual” 3000 division, said the company’s strategy about support for the server remains the same, at least for now. “We’ve put strong efforts in place to make sure we can continue to deliver the support services that [3000] customers have come to know through 2006,” he said.

Suggesting that third parties play a role in that support is not yet a part of HP’s strategy for the platform’s customers. David Lorino, the Partner Business Manager for the Central US region of HP’s Enterprise Systems Group channel, told the NewsWire in an April story that he “was pushing” a message through some of HP’s sales force that a third party authorized reseller, BlueLine Services, could support HP 3000 customers in the context of improving relations with 3000 sites.

“We are working with [HP 3000 sales manager] Hank Wendrowski, and so we’ve got BlueLine in front of them, and we’re going ‘Hey, these are these guys’ capabilities.’ [Wendrowski] is considering a proposal to take this nationwide. I think that would be the next step for BlueLine, to be the de-facto, designated go-to on a nationwide basis.”

What services the 3000 customers should go-to BlueLine for has come under scrutiny since April. When he was asked if a customer would get a notice that BlueLine could meet the support needs for a customer’s Series 9x9 HP 3000s, Lorino replied “Absolutely. We are pushing that way” toward a status of national supplier of support and services for 3000.

Wilde, with the help of press relations manager Greg Caldwell of HP Services, wanted to clarify HP’s strategy after the article was published. “We didn’t feel the material accurately reflected reality,” Wilde said. “[Lorino] was trying to represent the relationship with BlueLine, very positive, viewing them as a partner that provides valued services.”

Based on quotes from an interview, the article concluded that Lorino’s recommendation amounted to one of the first HP recommendations to buy 3000 support from outside of HP. Wilde said HP’s strategy does not involve recommending that partners such as BlueLine Services pick up support contracts for HP 3000s which HP currently supports. HP has ended support of the Series 9x7 line of HP 3000s, but Lorino said his initiative went beyond those servers.

The question of whether HP will ever recommend outside companies to support HP 3000s apparently remains in play. But when HP will put third parties into the picture for such services, especially for its customers homesteading long-term on the server, is on a list of items which Wilde and HP know that they must resolve — and sooner than mere months before December of 2006.

“This whole area is not one that’s going to lie dormant for a long time,” Wilde said. “Clearly it’s one of the areas that’s important for us to watch, monitor, listen and discuss.”

Wilde explained that “What happens after 2006 is an area that people have brought up,” including the subject of “what will the support community look like at that time. Stay tuned on this one.”

“This is an area that people have brought up as an issue, and it’s clearly on our list of customer’s needs. We try not to put a timeline on it, because of the complexities.”

The head of the 3000 business at HP added that “I understand that people can’t wait for updates from us until June of 2006, and I don’t mean that December 1, 2005 is okay, either. I understand people need to plan, and myself and HP aren’t dragging their feet on this.”

At the same time, the manager who called himself the “3000 go-to guy” when taking the job in 2002 has been working on improving the relationship between HP’s support arm, HP Services, and the 3000 group.

“I feel like the relationship with HP Services that we’ve built has been very constructive over this past year and a half, better than it’s been,” he said. Making a “thoughtful response to these issues” will help him “make sure the landscape is constructive for HP to continue to navigate this challenging path that we’re on.”