Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) rolled out the first phase of its overhauled partner program that will see a handful of legacy programs replaced with a more streamlined approach, though integration of its Juniper Networking program are at least a year away.

The newly launched HPE Partner Ready Vantage Program has three new “centers” based on Compute, Hybrid Cloud, and Networking. These will replace the legacy “As-a-service Center” and integrate those legacy features into a new “Sell Track.”

Simon Ewington, SVP, HPE’s Worldwide Channel and Partner Ecosystem, explained in a blog post that partners demonstrating “pan-HPE expertise across Compute, Hybrid Cloud, and Networking, and fulfill the eligibility criteria” can gain “Triple Platinum Plus” recognition, which enables “them to access expanded benefits and growth opportunities.”

“The program is intended to accelerate partner success by supporting both generalists and specialists, offering incentives for competency and facilitating rapid advancement within the HPE ecosystem,” Ewington wrote. “Through this initiative, HPE underscores its commitment to fostering partner growth and differentiation in a competitive market.”

The new Sell Track includes training and certification aligned with each technology center, which is designed to allow those partners to gain specific expertise in their chosen segments. Partners can now also resell the full HPE portfolio through a single program membership using HPE GreenLake as-a-service program or the traditional capex program, with the dedicated technology center specialization targeted at “broader growth.”

HPE also has new Service Track Centers based on Managed Services, Professional Services, Support Services, and Customer Success, with two “practice areas” on Data Center and Private Cloud, and Networking. These are designed to integrate with the sell track for “standardized capability assessments and streamlined tracking.”

The overhaul will see the elimination or integration of HPE’s long-standing HPE Partner Ready, HPE Partner Ready for Networking, HPE Partner Ready for Services, HPE Partner Ready Service Provider, and HPE Partner Ready for Networking: Partner Branded Support offerings.

“The new framework enables partners to achieve expertise quickly and resell across all three Sell Track Centers while also building out Services practices based on HPE innovation to deliver however partners choose, under their brand, the HPE brand, or both,” Ewington wrote, adding that HPE would unveil updates to its Build track toward the end of its recently begun fiscal year.

HPE program moves

HPE unveiled the updated partner program at its Discover event in June. It’s designed to bring together previously disparate channels such as HPE Partner Ready and HPE Partner Ready for Networking under a single umbrella.

Ewington in a blog post shortly after the unveiling claimed the vendor counted “more than 1,700 partners with one or more HPE Partner Ready Vantage membership,” at the close of its recently completed third fiscal quarter.

“Designed with partner input and built on best practices from HPE’s award-winning programs, it simplifies enrolment, offers flexible participation, and provides tailored support,” Ewington said of the program. “With a unified compensation model and the ability to choose competencies aligned with their business goals, partners can easily differentiate, drive growth, and deliver innovative solutions in a competitive market.”

HPE Networking chief Rami Rahim last month touted the new program update. Rahim, who was Juniper CEO and is now president and GM of HPE’s Juniper-infused networking business, told analysts at HPE’s recent Securities Analyst Meeting that “about 90% of our sales” come through those channel partners.

“When we closed this deal, there was only around a 10% overlap in partners between HPE Aruba Networking and Juniper Networks,” Rahim said of HPE’s $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks that closed mid-year. “We now have more than 47,000 partners around the world selling our HPE networking portfolio. So harmonizing partner programs and driving our combined product portfolio through a broader partner community represents a compelling source of revenue synergies for us.”

HPE recently appointed Juniper’s sales leader Gordon Mackintosh as SVP of sales to lead its channel and partner networking sales. Mackintosh had spent five years at Juniper and was previously VP for partner-led sales at Extreme Networks and spent almost two decades at Cisco.

Despite the networking expectations, Ewington’s blog post stated integration of HPE Juniper Networking into the new Partner Ready Vantage program would not happen until fiscal-year 2027, which begins late next year.

Channel partner changes

HPE’s channel partner overhaul continues a trend among enterprise vendors.

Cisco this week released more details on upcoming changes for its newly named Cisco 360 program. Those changes will rely heavily on the vendor’s ongoing AI push that is targeted at more rapid service innovation, a bold target for Cisco’s approximately 60,000 channel partners that are coming off of a very lucrative and long-standing channel program.

Cisco’s moves are similar to ones enacted by Broadcom as part of its VMware integration, which aligned legacy partner activities more with Broadcom’s own programs. However, Broadcom’s moves garnered a strong backlash from some legacy VMware partners that claimed they were being left out of the new program and its financial opportunities.