Hewlett Packard Enterprise is pouring fresh capital into its North American sales operations to help partners capture a massive market opportunity. According to the company, the push targets the enterprise and SLED (state, local and education) sectors, where HPE believes there is significant unmet potential.
The company is making a “net-new investment” with real dollars and personnel. HPE Vice President of North America Channel and Ecosystem Jeremiah Jenson noted that the effort is aimed at putting partners in a position to win.
“We recognize there is an opportunity in North America specifically, and we’re making investments with real dollars and people to capture that opportunity,” Jenson said.
These aren’t just plans for the future. HPE has already hired a “broad number” of new sales representatives, including a channel-specific SLED team. Some of these new hires are currently in training, and the company has a road map for additional training classes.
“The timing is now,” Jenson stated. “It is not the future or something we’re thinking about or something we’re planning on. The timing is right now.”
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HPE Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer Phil Mottram referenced a $100 billion total addressable market (TAM) in North America during the company’s recent HPE Discover event. Jenson confirmed the figure was used during their meetings, noting the opportunity is large enough to warrant immediate focus.
“It’s not that we’re de-investing or not making investments elsewhere, it’s that there is such a massive opportunity,” Jenson explained. “So while there are other opportunities outside North America, the North America opportunity is so large that it’s an opportunity we want to move quickly to capture.”
The strategy focuses on 5,000 underpenetrated enterprise midmarket accounts. HPE believes that with the right investment, the company can accelerate its growth in this specific segment.
The approach is channel-centric. HPE relies on its partner ecosystem to execute this strategy, aiming to capture the opportunity through collaboration rather than direct sales alone. The company views its portfolio as capable of addressing any customer business problem, from edge networking to complex data center workloads.
The new sales force is being integrated to support these partners. This includes a commitment from leadership to dedicate time to partner meetings. Jenson described the energy surrounding the initiative as a “new level” of excitement, suggesting a cultural shift toward sales execution.
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Support for partners isn’t limited to hiring. HPE has adjusted its pricing terms, extending quote validity from 14 days to 30 days for servers, storage, and GreenLake Flex. This change is intended to help partners close deals in a competitive environment where competitors often only offer shorter validity periods.
“We changed our pricing terms to 30-day quote validity. That’s massive,” Jenson said.
Partners have responded positively to these moves, often asking HPE executives what they can do to win specific customers. The company’s answer has been consistent: “Yes,” Jenson said, emphasizing a willingness to go to market aggressively every day.
“Now that North America is getting net-new sales investment, what is your advice to partners on how to take advantage of that?” Jenson was asked.
“The message to partners is now is the time to partner with HPE,” he replied. “Right now. Now is your opportunity. We have made the move. We have hired the people. This is a net incremental investment. Now is the time to get on the front foot with HPE.”
