Al Senia (bio)

What recession? Hewlett-Packard Co., a long-time channel giant, posted profits and projections that are the envy of many technology vendors. The company reported a 13 percent jump in revenue over last year for its first quarter ending in January. That beat analyst estimates. HP executives also say they expect second quarter revenues to outpace Wall Street expectations. HP CEO Mark Hurd raised guidance in Q2, noting "our confidence in anticipated cost reductions and share gains in key markets."

All of this good news might have a halo effect on other channel vendors, especially those wth a global customer base (which seems to be fueling the sales growth.) The good news for the channel was that notebook revenue shot up 37 percent over the prior year; desktop revenue jumped 15 percent; and enterprise server and storage revenue grew 9 percent. Even services revenue enjoyed an 11 percent boost. All in all, it looks as if companies are still willing to invest in useful technology and services, a fact sure to bolster resellers.