Mitel, HP boost channel marketing, support

IP communications provider Mitel and HP ProCurve Networking have rolled out a global channel alliance expected to pool vendor resources, boost support and grow the number of system integrators and resellers.

Gwilym Funnell, country manager for Mitel, said HP and Mitel were starting to work together locally on a new global channel alliance signed last year.

"The focus is very much on how can we provide a stronger solution for our partners, in terms of providing a fully integrated solution from both a data and a voice perspective," he said.

New channel partners that could blend business process, voice and data skills were being sought. It was envisaged they would be targeting mid-size companies with up to 1000 users -- one of the groups moving fastest towards IP telephony, he said.

The alliance was being rolled out globally region by region. HP and Mitel would team up on R&D, marketing and accreditation efforts, with an eye to lifting pre-sales and post-sales support for both sets of channel partners, he said.

"[We're] looking at joint services, joint accreditation of the channels, then joint sales and marketing strategies," Funnell said.

Mark Berends, sales and marketing manager at HP ProCurve Networking, said the companies wanted to strike while the IP telephony iron was hot. "It's the year of VoIP," he said.

However, he claimed that few service providers had adequately addressed both voice and data sides of the equation. Mitel and HP would aim to do that by pooling resources through the global alliance, Berends said.

Mitel and HP have scheduled reseller meetings discussing the opportunities for Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in about two weeks, he said.

John McHugh, general manager of HP ProCurve Networking, would visit Australia to speak at the sessions, Berends added.

The companies’ combined offering would incorporate products such as ProCurve's Adaptive EDGE Architecture and Mitel’s IP PBXs, IP phones and IP applications, the companies said.