HP storage bundles working for channel

HP partners generated $1.2 million in storage sales over the past three months thanks to the introduction of Simply StorageWorks, a campaign aimed at simplifying storage for its channel partners.

The program provided registered channel partners with three storage packages to sell.

The first, dubbed 'My first SAN', focused on HP's entry level MSA 1000 and 1500 SANs; the second, 'Easy as NAS', included ProLiant Storage from the ML100 up to the DL585.

The third bundle, dubbed 'Ultimate Business Protection' package, included products that range from the USB DAT 40/72 drives up to the low-end library products.

Mark Nielsen, product marketing manager for storage at HP Australia, said more than 800 resellers in Australia and 250 in New Zealand had registered to sell the packages.

Once a reseller was registered, they were sent a copy of a partner package and a guide on how to sell the solution, said Nielsen. "Storage doesn't have to be hard -- we've tried to pave the way for them [resellers] to create the demand in the market," said Nielsen.

HP's recently released USB DAT drives had generated "phenomenal interest", he added. In the first week of release the drives had generated $200,000 worth of orders, he said.

The new versions of its DAT 72 and DAT 40 tape drives use the USB 2.0 interface instead of a traditional SCSI interface, making them less expensive and easier to install, HP claimed.