Microsoft, HP Extend 'Private Label' Hosting Opportunities To VARsMicrosoft, HP Extend 'Private Label' Hosting Opportunities To VARs

Microsoft and HP announced today a joint initiative that enables value-added resellers to benefit from a SaaS business model by providing new revenue streams and helping them be strategic advisers to their clients.HP and Microsoft plan to equip VARs with tools and guidance that will let them "private label" Microsoft solutions that are hosted by managed service providers. The goal is they will be able to generate new revenue streams by offering small- and midsize-business customers more choice in solution-delivery methods.

"We're supplying the training and tools necessary to help customers figure out how to employ cloud computing efforts," Janet Pretti, HP's vice president of channel marketing, said in an interview. "Our intent is to make it less scary."

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Microsoft and HP are also providing solution configurations based on HP BladeSystem, HP ProLiant, and HP StorageWorks products, with the goal of making it easier for customers and partners to plan for hosted Web services. The solutions can be sold to managed service providers that want to expand their hosting business by deploying Microsoft's virtualization platform and management tools for delivery of Windows Workloads as well as to companies that want to enter the hosting business.

By enabling VARs to offer small and midsize businesses a choice of on-premise and as-a-service IT delivery models, according to HP and Microsoft, the Private Label initiative aims to allow VARs to extend their role as strategic advisers by helping customers optimize IT investments and productivity as the customers migrate to Web services.

The goal is that VARs can generate a software services revenue stream for supplying customers with Private Label solutions as well as provide value-added services such as integration, customization, and remote provisioning to managed service provider customers.

"When we look at the data, we see more interest in cloud computing," said Allen Clark, Microsoft's industry director of hosting, in an interview. "We're fortunate to have strong partnerships in delivering these services."

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