HP to open up Autonomy channel

Vendor launches Autonomy channel scheme after admitting it has been 'too hard' for VARs to justify investing to date

HP has vowed that the launch of its first formalised Autonomy partner programme will clarify how VARs can make money from the technology.

The vendor has also admitted that, until now, there may have been too many logistical and financial barriers preventing resellers getting involved with selling the software vendor's wares. Unveiled at the HP Global Partner Conference in Las Vegas this week, the Autonomy channel scheme is designed to be very similar to HP's existing PartnerOne channel programme.

Steve Reny, senior vice president of market development for HP Autonomy, said: "If you are an HP partner for hardware or software, this is going to feel very familiar. We are going to be very clear about how you make money from this."

The scheme will be divided into three tiers: Business, Preferred, and Specialist. Over the course of the coming year it will be ported into the wider PartnerOne architecture. Reny admitted that the complexity of engaging with the Autonomy portfolio may have hitherto stopped partners from exploring it during the 18 months that it has been owned by HP.

"Previously, if you were making an investment in Autonomy technologies, it may have meant investing in multiple programmes," he said. "Frankly, it may have felt too hard to work with us."