Success stories

	HP Awards HP Certified Professionals of the year

LAS VEGAS, HP Global Partner Conference, September 15, 2005 - HP today announced its top three HP Certified Professionals for 2005.

Selected from more than 300 entries, the winners are:

• First place: Wendy Paine, Hawke Systems, UK
• Second place: Reidin Buckley of Pacific IT, Ireland
• Third place: Markus Kuhn of ASCAD, Germany

As HP Certified Professional of the Year, Wendy Paine, a senior technical specialist at Hawke Systems (recently acquired by Logicalis Group) will receive €20K in funding, in addition to the trophy and certificate awarded to each partner.

Based on strictly observed criteria, the awards recognise the unique value Certified Professionals bring to customers. Criteria include:

• Growth of more than 20 percent in HP's enterprise business
• Demonstration of in-depth knowledge as a critical factor in tipping the scales for a specific deal
• Enablement of a positive Total Customer Experience

"These award winners prove that the expertise gained through the HP Certified Professional Program dramatically boosts customer credibility, which in turn drives sales revenue," said Alexander Lehrmann, director, HP Certified Professional Program & Education, Europe, Middle East and Africa. "Their know-how in building, implementing and managing HP storage solutions has ensured their respective companies are both profitable and one step ahead of their competitors."

1st: Wendy Paine, Hawke Systems
Strategic insight demonstrated by Paine and her colleagues secured a multi-site, storage deal with Karachaganak Petroleum Operating company (KPO), a US$4.3 billion collaboration among BG Group, ENI, ChevronTexaco, Lukoil and the Kazakhi government.

Drawing upon the knowledge acquired through the HP Certified Professional Program, Paine and her team designed and implemented an HP StorageWorks Storage Area Network (SAN) over two sites, 35 kilometres apart. KPO's expectations were met by reducing the complexity and costs of their SAN deployment, while installing a resilient and scalable architecture with centralized back-up and full fail-over between sites.

"Time, effort and numerous onsite visits by Wendy and her team made this project a success," said David Campbell, IT and telecom manager, BG Group, responsible for managing the project. Without Wendy's leadership and know-how, we could not have succeeded in streamlining our operations. When it comes to integrating HP technology, these people really know their stuff."

2nd: Reidin Buckley, Pacific IT
Highly satisfied after an initial collaboration with Reidin Buckley, sales director, Pacific IT, the company's largest pharmaceutical customer turned to Buckley and her colleagues to expand its IT storage, while consolidating its infrastructure and increasing SAN security.

Buckley's recently acquired HP certifications qualified her to not only sell, but also install HP Enterprise Virtual Array solutions in conduction with HP Professional Services. Her HP Storage Certifications also provided Buckley with the necessary expertise to command customer credibility. A comprehensive feasibility study, teamed with a solution demonstration, convinced the customer that Buckley's recommendation was the right choice.

3rd: Markus Kuhn, ASCAD
The knowledge of HP products and solutions demonstrated by ASCAD senior consultant Kuhn, combined with ASCAD's elite HP Storage partner status, enabled ASCAD to win the business of Kleeman & Reiner, a crusher and screen manufacturer.

Kuhn surpassed Kleeman & Reiner's expectations with his comprehensive IT infrastructure recommendation. Tapping into knowledge acquired through his HP Master Accredited Systems Engineer certification, Kuhn successfully proved to Kleeman & Reiner that his proposal significantly increased the flexibility and performance of ASCAD's IT infrastructure, satisfying the needs of the customer's executives.

For additional information, please see case studies included in the Global Partner Conference press kit.

About the HP Certified Professional Program

The HP Certified Professional Program offers channel partners a structured approach to boost knowledge, enhance partners' value-add and increase profitability. HP enables channel partners to protect their investment in knowledge acquisition through the HP re-certification program. There are already over 40,000 HP Certified Professionals in the EMEA region with a total of over 78,000 certifications to their credit.

About HP

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $85.2 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.