HP Reveals ‘Herculean’ Digital Transformation

HP says partners will soon start seeing the results of its investments in digital transformation.

Acting chief commercial officer Luciana Broggi revealed the changes at the HP Amplify Executive Forum partner roadshow last week in Palo Alto, California.

She said HP’s digital transformation focused on turning data “into meaningful insights that we can use to run a much better business.”

One of HP’s biggest efforts has been around rolling up its disparate ERP systems into one.

HP’s Enrique Lores

“We had more than 11 systems that were not connected,” said HP CEO Enrique Lores. “Now we have one. “It has been a Herculean job to make it happen. We had one of the most complex systems in the world. When we talk to the software companies that have been working with us, this has been one of the largest projects they have done in their history. And now we have this system that we can really build applications or tools on top of. [It] is really a very strong foundation. It may take time, but compared to where we were two years ago … Now we have a great platform. Now it’s about squeezing the value out of it because we have invested a lot of money to make sure we deliver value.”

Broggi admitted the process was sometimes “a little bit painful” for partners. She went on to thank them for their continued partnership. She added that the firm was almost at the end of its efforts.

HP’s Luciana Broggi

“I really hope that you’re starting to see the results of the investment and the work we’re doing together,” she said.

Partners will also see more API integration with the CRM system in the coming months. Kobi Elbaz, general manager of HP’s global channel organization, said HP has already undertaken pilots with a few partners.

“We will work with you to make sure that it’s more integrated in the way you work,” he told partners.

‘Hard Work’ of Sharing Data Paying Off

Broggi also thanked partners for sharing their data upon the introduction of the HP Amplify program. Ninety-eight percent of HP’s channel partners share data, creating more than 14 billion data points that are updated in the platform weekly.

“I know it was controversial. We asked you to share more data with us, it was more work. It was investment; it was people,” she said.

“We have done a lot of work,” she said. “Some of you that are starting to work very closely with us … are giving us some very good feedback.”

New CPQ Tool for Partners

Elsewhere, HP is digitizing its operations is through its development of a new CPQ (configurator, pricing, quoting) tool for partners. It is now rolling out across 90 countries.

“We are able today for you to configure, price and deliver four times faster than before,” Broggi told partners.

This is just the beginning of this aspect of digital transformation, she added. HP plans to roll out “an even a bigger platform” in the next couple of months. This is where “transactional, contractual and the portfolio will be managed.”

Additionally, Broggi said HP is using machine learning (ML) to improve forecasting, as part of its efforts around fixing the supply chain.

“We’ll go back to that huge source of data … how do we use it in a much more intelligent way?” she said.