Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) named six new members to its SMB Advisory Council Wednesday and appointed the council’s new president, Romi Randhawa, president and CEO of Fremont, Calif.-based HPM Networks.

“I’m honored to be presiding over a group of incredible partners to help further drive the momentum that’s been created as a result of this council,” said Randhawa, a council member since 2003, at a press conference in Cupertino, Calif.

He said a key mission for the council in the next year would be to better communicate HP’s SMB-facing value propositions to more of the 16,000 solution providers HP estimates service the IT needs of SMBs in the U.S.

Run by Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP’s Solution Partners Organization (SPO) - Americas, the SMB Advisory council is made up of key HP channel partners who collaborate with the computing giant to address a bigger portion of the SMB market in the U.S.

You can read the full story here.

An expert from a recent article on CRN regarding HP and HPM in the SMB Space:

Full article can be found here and second part here.

I think we should take the opportunity to congratulate you, Romi. You’re the new president of the SMB Advisory Council -- what are some of your goals?

RR: Thank you. I’ve been on the council for about six years and HP has evolved quite a lot in six years. One of the things I would like to change is I would like to mix the members up a little bit, so we have every view represented, so we can get more feedback from each view specifically so we can get a little better.

And second, you know I take my owner hat off and I look at 16,000 partners [serving SMBs in the U.S.] and I don’t if they’re getting our message. I don’t know if we’re getting through to them. Look at the [HP Americas Partner Conference], we had about 500 or 600 partners at that event. And how do we take that message down to the thousands of other partners and say, “You know, HP’s looking to align with channel partners as long you can bring value to the table, as long as you can bring something that don’t specialize in and their not intending to hire people for.” How do we make them grow with HP and how do we get HP more market share amongst all those other partners who are not using HP today?

HPM Networks has been recognized by Everything Channel as one of North America’s top technology integrators. Named to the prestigious VAR500 list, HPM Networks placed number 276 in the 16th annual ranking.

HPM was ranked 386 in 2008. Over the course of 2 years they jumped ahead of more than 100 companies in the United States. See full story here.

The annual CRN Fast Growth 100 list. The list is made up of solution providers, resellers, VARs, outsourcing firms and consultants that have had impressive growth rates between 2006 and 2008. HPM makes their first appearance on the list at #65.

Romi Randhawa, president and CEO (left) and Charles Miano, Vice President, HPM Networks.

What does it take to land a spot on the VARBusiness 500?

For some solution providers new to the list, hard work, anticipating market changes and a commitment to the mid-market are keys to success.

HPM Networks Inc. (2008 VARBusiness 500 No. 386), a Fremont, Calif., solution provider new to this year's list with 2007 revenue of $55 million saw its business grow 41 percent last year. "Our growth is coming from our consultative model that we put in place about three years ago," said Romi Randhawa, HPM Networks' president and CEO. "We focused on three strategic areas: virtualization, server consolidation and storage consolidation." Randhawa said he hired solution architects and put his entire staff, including salespeople, through extensive training in strategic solutions. "That effort really started paying off a year and a half ago," he said. "And our biggest growth opportunities are in the midmarket and SMB. That's where we are coming in and throwing a bunch of our resources."

Related Articles:

http://www.crn.com/var/apps/2008/var500/details.jhtml?id=386

http://cf.us.biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080603/nytu012.html?.v=101

http://www.crn.com/small-business/174402320?queryText=HPM+Networks

VARBusiness 500 Newcomer, Take 2
The second VARBusiness 500 Newcomer award went to HPM, a $55 million solution provider in Fremont, Calif. HPM Controller Michael Mahabali accepts the award from VARBusiness Senior Editor Jennifer Bosavage. HPM debuted at No. 386.

Related Link:

CRN Story

HPM Networks is proud to announce its expansion into the ever growing India IT market. HPM is the first US based VAR for HP to have an international location in India. HPM is committed to offering seamless and effortless transactions for USA based customers with offices in India.

HPM has chosen Ingram Micro as its distributor for IT products. Ingram is the largest distributor for IT products globally. Currently, HPM India is focused on selling HP products and solutions. HPM offers the ability for US based customers to cut purchase orders domestically in the US and receive products delivered locally in their India facility.

HPM has achieved HP's top status as an Enterprise Elite partner for the following solution platforms:

• HP Blade Elite
• HP Storage Elite
• HP Business Critical Systems (BCS) Elite
• HP Procurve Professional
• Linux Elite

HPM has worked diligently to ensure we've covered all key Elite Certifications through HP so we may provide a comprehensive portfolio offering to our valued customers.

The Elite status will allow HPM to design and implement HP-UX, Storage and Procurve product lines while also providing delivery services on behalf of HP. We at HPM are very excited about our achievement and will strive to grow further as more Elite Certifications become available.