What Happened:
HP's AV integrator channel leader Pat Piotrczyk discussed managing partners through multiple acquisitions, from Polycom to Plantronics and ultimately into HP, emphasizing that patience and transparent communication are essential when business cards change but relationships remain constant.
The integration has created opportunities for legacy HP partners to expand into collaboration products while AV integrators can now sell PCs, printers, and security solutions, though success requires partners to understand different buying personas and margin structures across the portfolio.
HP is embedding Poly audio and camera innovations directly into its PC lineup, with the newest laptops featuring Poly Studio audio technology and Poly Camera Pro, demonstrating tangible product integration nearly three years after the acquisition.
These insights were discussed during a conversation on the Partnerships Unraveled podcast by Channext.
Our Take:
Channel leaders navigating M&A face a common tension that partners need stability while the business demands evolution. Piotrczyk's approach offers a roadmap for managing this complexity.
When a 20-year partner nearly lost a major enterprise account because they focused solely on video while ignoring the headset opportunity, it illustrated a broader lesson about account control. The customer issued separate RFPs for video and headsets, then decided to single-source, nearly cutting out a longstanding partner who wasn't positioned for the full opportunity.
This scenario reveals why HP's broad portfolio creates both opportunity and urgency for partners. If you're not present across multiple buying centers within an account, competitors can establish footholds that eventually threaten your core business.
HP's partner program appears designed to incentivize this complexity, offering margin benefits for partners who specialize across product lines. But the real work is cultural: convincing partners to ask the "by the way" questions about adjacent technologies even when a video deal looks like enough.
For channel organizations facing similar M&A scenarios, Piotrczyk's emphasis on "relationship currency" during instability is telling. When product roadmaps shift and programs evolve, trust built over years becomes the stabilizing force that keeps partners engaged through uncertainty.
Listen to the full interview here.