Hewlett-Packard welcomed the community of HP 3000 software suppliers and integrators to its Solution Provider Program (SPP) last month, offering technical support and free MPE software plus a place on a new Web site that catalogs HP software solutions.

SPP membership was a prerequisite for purchasing the developer-only Series 918DX HP 3000 during the past year. But that low-end box has been supplemented with four faster HP 3000s, Series 928, 929, 939 and 969/120 systems. More importantly, extra services to demonstrate and deploy applications are now available in an SPP that recognizes HP 3000 nuances.

“In the past we’ve gotten feedback that the SPP program wasn’t meeting the needs of MPE developers,” said CSY R&D manager Winston Prather. “We’ve been revamping the SPP program specifically for the HP 3000.”

CSY Alliance Development Manager Kriss Rant added that “The SPP will be the program that we use to communicate and stay in touch with our ISVs. Everything will kind of circle around that.”

In addition to the program’s Developer’s Software Showcase of HP’s MPE/iX development tools and operating system software updated twice a year, an $850 yearly membership to SPP includes technical support for software development. Dave Branscome of the SPP said these support engineers are at a level above standard HP Response Centers, and are dedicated to HP developers.

“We want to make sure that people have very quick access to the technical resource that can answer their questions extremely fast,” Branscome said. “We don’t want our members spending a lot of time trying to figure something out. We want them to call us, get an answer to their question and move forward.”

Engineers who are trained in MPE/iX are employed by the SPP, according to CSY Alliance Development Manager Kriss Rant, not on loan from CSY or part of the Response Center. The technical consultants answer questions directly or can bring in other technical resources from the HP 3000 division.

“A lot of these people come out of the labs,” Branscome said, “so their technical expertise and focus is extremely high.” An escalation process in the SPP can get questions moved to a higher level of SPP or to the division for answers. “The typical 3000 developer we see is extremely knowledgeable about the development environment in HP systems, so the level of calls we get may not be as high. We’re the narrow part of the hourglass.”

Membership in SPP also includes an account manager, an HP solutions publication, assistance in participating alongside HP at trade shows, and Web-based seminars for training. A quarterly technical publication will now include some MPE/iX coverage.

SPP members also have their solutions included in a Web-based solutions catalog. The catalog is a revision of HP’s SOLCAT Web site, one which gives prospective 3000 customers a way to find applications based on vertical market, application and platform type. Customers can access the site at www.hp.com/go/global_solutions. The online catalog is a collection of material submitted by suppliers, and HP takes no responsibility for the accuracy of content on the site.