HP, Telcos to Expand Managed Services

HP is again looking to its partners in order to help expand its managed service contracts in new markets.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company announced two deals this week
with telecommunications providers that offer data, voice and
video networking services to customers.

HP inked a three-year cross-promotional
and service deal with SBC . The company said it is also
partnering with OPNET Technologies The SBC partnership is a non-exclusive expansion of the companies’
existing relationship. David Vaporean, Group Executive managing director
of strategic alliances and investments with HP, told
internetnews.com. He said the principal focus is on the small to medium
sized enterprise sector with some
selective corporate customers sprinkled in.

“We have a rich sales community channel partners and relationships,”
Vaporean said. “We are also looking beyond that with potentials for
investing in future science and technology. We are looking at digital
media, networking infrastructure or even recalibrating current
technologies.”

Hardmon Williams, assistant vice president of emerging channels at
SBC, said each company acknowledges that the partnership allows for an
opportunity for a branded cross-selling opportunity.

“HP might have better relationships that SBC can take advantage of
with its ‘SBC Inside’ approach. SBC may have better relationships that
HP can take advantage with an ‘HP Inside’ approach,” Williams said.

The companies said they have implemented successful
trials, including a multi-geography contract with a coffee
retailer that serves more than 350 sites in eight states. They also pointed to a contract with an unnamed health care delivery provider that provides a single point of
contact for acquisition of technologies and to consolidate cost savings of about 20 percent.

Both companies plan to begin jointly marketing each company’s
services in the first quarter of 2005.

The OPNET contract is expected to help Spain’s largest
telecommunications operator speed its rollout of a new Multi-protocol
Label Switching/Internet Protocol network. The contract for Telefonica
Moviles Espana includes HP OpenView management platform and OPNET’s SP
Guru software.

The companies also announced an expanded line of HP-certified
software that was originally showcased last month in Madrid. The
offerings build on OPNET’s product integration with HP’s Infrastructure
Management and Application Management software.

HP’s services division is doing better than most of its other groups.
According to its 2004 financial statement, services grew to $137
million. Still, the company must expand its contracts to compete against
IBM and Sun Microsystems .