channelcentral Blog

Earlier today we mentioned that we were keen to take feedback and action it. Since then we have made some changes to the HP Personal Systems Group (PSG) iQuote. Each model now displays the WiFi standards supported as standard. For completion we also added Bluetooth and as some systems have WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) we added that too.

Prior to this change Channel sales relied on Parts Descriptions for this information or had to check on spreadsheets. iQuote is much, much easier and demonstrates how the channelcentral model of running iQuote as a fully managed service is so beneficial. In other development environments that would have been a development request at the end of a long queue !

We have a Feedback Form on every page (omni-present) and we encourage ideas. As a result of iQuote User Feedback we have improved our product descriptions, menu systems and added new features including Notebook weights, the ability to show End User Rebates where available (coming soon) and wireless network standards on Notebooks (coming soon).

Every user that completes a form gets a response and soon this whole process will become easier for all as we will move the communication out of email and into an iQuote Message function. We actively encourage feedback and look to implement change where possible. So thank you to iQuote Users to help with our continued improvement.

Quick update: the HP ProLiant ML330 G6 server is now available on iQuote. One of iQuote’s differentiators is that it is a fully managed service so we handle the product lifecycle freeing up our customers to concentrate on selling.

As we have completed the Distribution rollout of iQuote for the UK and Ireland our attention has very much turned towards ensuring a comprehensive portfolio of HP systems and options. This was prompted by a “Back to the Floor” moment that I experienced last week helping a Salesman deal with a Reseller request using iQuote. We want to avoid Sales having to produce a part-quote using iQuote. To that end we are working on:

• Phase 1 of the UP Sizer: adding the UPSs as options for Servers.
• Offering a broader range of HP services (Care Packs) against each System Unit (Desktop, Notebook, Workstation and Server).
• Sweeping Top Value for any System Units that have slipped through the net.

We are also looking to address some of the highly complex configuration rules around 2nd processor memory bank enablement, common slot Power Supply Units (power sizing) and RDIMM and UDIMM swapping. Well we like a challenge.

How cool would it be if you could go to a customer with nothing more than your mobile phone and provide them with a quotation for a complex rack-based ProLiant server? Well if the phone is an iPhone you can! We haven’t gone AppStore because we didn’t need to. iQuote works just fine in the standard Apple iPhone Browser.

As iQuote expands in terms of user count, geography and supported products what a fantastic service the Channel will be able to provide to customers. Sales productivity soaring. We will continue to test on IE6/7/8, Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari (Apple Mac & iPhone).

We are pleased to announce that our first Euro currency customer has gone live today. Not only do we accept the price feed in Euros, display the price in Euros but we also show the Flexible and Fixed Bundle Rebates in, you guessed it, Euros. iQuote works on the basis that the user will only want to view one currency at a time.

It’s a key milestone and also a proof point for a number of Eurozone Distributors and Resellers that are evaluating iQuote. We believe we can handle any currency with less than 1000% annual inflation !

For HP ProLiant G6 servers additional Power Supply Units (PSUs) are required when thresholds are met on the number of installed components and options. We are working on this function now so that the iQuote user will be prompted to add another PSU. Once this work is done we will turn our attention to Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) Sizing – iQuote will calculate the actual power draw of the system in real-time and present that figure to the user.

Shortly afterwards iQuote will recommend a UPS available from HP based on the VA Rating of the configuration and provide a quick link to add the UPS. We think that this will be a popular feature as the user doesn’t have to leave iQuote to size a UPS. Longer term we intend to handle the common requirement for UPS sizing across multiple servers.

To complete the pricing functions for our HP Personal System Group (PSG) version of iQuote we have added the Bundles. HP offers Value, Optimiser and Professional Bundles across its Notebook and Desktop ranges. These are all offered via a Menu initially, however if a Bundle is not selected but most of the Bundle is added to a Quote ‘naturally’ iQuote then prompts the user to add the final piece and obtain a saving for the End User.

In addition they offer a selection of TFT Monitors for discounted prices when purchased with a System Unit. The Bundle saving is applied automatically when a qualifying monitor is added to a qualifying system unit.

As you would expect if an iQuote user removes a qualifying part and invalidates the Bundle iQuote removes the Rebate, warns the user and then gives the option to re-apply the Bundle.