Over the past two years, supply chains the world over have been impacted by the pandemic.

While many countries are now returning to a relative state of normalcy, supply chains remain affected and factories have had to adjust expectations in terms of manufacturing, but consumers are still hankering for new devices, whether that be in the consumer or enterprise space.

In this swirling mix of geopolitical, technological and entrepreneurial elements that companies like HP have to navigate, and moving forward, channel partners will seemingly play a bigger part than ever before.

This is one of the themes that HP touched on recently during the Dubai leg of its Amplify Executive Forum 2022 roadshow, with the event speaking directly to partners in the Middle East and Africa region.

To gain a bit more insight into where HP will be focusing, both in South Africa and across the continent, we got the time to speak to Brad Pulford, VP and MD for Africa, who was recently appointed to a similar role in the Australia/New Zealand territory for the company.

Our discussion ranged from newly launched devices to enable hybrid work, to the company’s Amplify Impact program and how it plans to keep partners on track in terms of sustainability.

Here is some of the insight that he was able to share, along with what HP will be focusing on for the local channel moving forward.

Hypertext: We were surprised to hear about the level of engagement from partners in terms of sharing sales data with HP via Amplify. Given the recent significance of PoPIA, was there any reluctance to do so, and how did HP negotiate this?

Brad Pulford: Absolutely. For HP it is about being very clear around what the intention is for the programme itself. If you can communicate that effectively, you can then start having better conversations and building that trust.

Trust is an essential part of HP building this partner ecosystem.

That takes time, however, especially given all the paranoia around security and PoPI, and there were a couple of partners who said ‘we’re going to give you all of this data, how do we know you’re not going to exploit it?’

But the reality is when they started to see some of the opportunities that come from the insights, the collaboration, and building things like internal partner programs, that reluctance starts to fall away.

It’s still a journey, and we’re not quite where we want to be yet, but what we have seen is where we have started to demonstrate the effectiveness of insights and the impact it has on their respective businesses, they want to share more information.

This is what you’re going to see through Amplify.

Hypertext: Is there genuine desire from South African Amplify Impact partners to push sustainability, or are they only interested in the optics?

BP: I love the question. One of the parts that I’m really enjoying at HP is the sincerity and commitment that we drive on a daily basis around key pillars like Amplify Impact and sustainability in particular.

It is driven with rigour and is a key KPI that is measured intrinsically. There is commitment to progress and it is managed down to the sustainability attach rate at a sales maker level.

Just to give you an idea of just how serious we are, we are in constant conversation with partners and customers on how they can assist around sustainability. I believe that for some of our competitors, it is a tick box exercise, but from an HP point of view it is one of the core values that we drive as a culture internally.

Hypertext: HP has also explained that partners take a pledge when join Amplify Impact. How does the company ensure it is more than just a pledge?

BP: As part of Amplify, firstly yes we encourage to take the pledge, but secondly we encourage as part of the Impact programme to have a measurable within your business.

Show us how much you are recycling and how much progress you are making, as an example, and show us what kind of impact you are having in your community. There is a KPI that is attached to what is demonstrated, so it does not stop at taking the pledge.

It’s not just about ‘we’re in this together’ or telling us the ‘what and the how’, show us what you are actually doing and how you’ve done it.

There is also another aspect to Amplify Impact. We have the focus on how your company impacts the environment, but we also look at elements like entrepreneurship, more meaningful education through our own programmes like HP IDEA.

Education is an area I’m quite passionate about. I’ve seen legacy companies approach education by simply handing out lots of devices, but addressing education is not a device problem, it’s about tackling issues like infrastructure and connectivity.

HP has platforms and programmes in place where partners can get involved, so there is a full spectrum of ways that companies can go beyond the pledge.

Hypertext: One of the major talking points here at Amplify has been hybrid work. In SA the embracing of hybrid work is not as extensive as other more mature markets. Is there a push from HP to educate partners and customers on the value of hybrid work?

BP: Absolutely. That is part of something we call mastering the message when we are sitting in front of partners and customers.

We need to help them understand, so if you think about the narratives around our portfolio, as well as some of the recent acquisitions we have made, hybrid work is very much where things are going and we need to be ready for it.

It is therefore that our partners are on the same journey.