Do not pass Go, go straight to Dell
Josh Claman, the VP and GM for the EMEA channel at Dell, unveiled Dell’s new cunning plan for the channel and it’s called, appropriately, Dell Partner Direct.
In keeping with its transition from a direct-only model, Dell is fostering channel relationships directly with OEM, major accounts and VARs without involving distribution. When questioned about this by HEXUS.channel, Claman answered: “We’re not ruling out [working with distribution] but we don’t want to introduce layers that don’t add any value we couldn’t add ourselves.”
The channel launch concerned its ISG (industry solutions group) division – the OEM arm that manufactures white label solutions like Google’s search appliance – and its Alliances division, which deals with key partners such as Accenture and EDS. The main focus of it, however, was on SMB focused VARs.
Dell has identified this area as its largest growth opportunity within the channel and EMEA channel marketing director Michael Buck explained that the cornerstones of Partner Direct were simplicity, ease of business and integrity. He explained that feedback Dell had got from VARs was that they wanted direct relationships with vendors and that Dell is looking for partners who want long term relationships (GSOH, no smokers please).
Claman took over again to summarise recent announcements about Equalogic and ProSupport. He confirmed that a key feature of its Equalogic proposition is its strength in the iSCSI market, which Dell has identified as very important. With Equalogic having been 100 per cent channel before Dell bought it, Claman stressed that its partners were being brought into the Partner Direct programme. On ProSupport he emphasised the ability to customise support packages for individual needs.
On the key topic of channel conflicts, Claman said Dell was aware that some partners might be worried about being undercut by the direct sales force. To reassure them he said they had implemented three measures. Firstly, margin will be built into partner process and the direct salespeople will not be allowed to go below the established ‘street price’. Secondly there will be a ‘deal registration’ facility that will allow partners to notify Dell of a deal and, in principle, prevent overlap. Lastly there will be ‘double crediting’, where a Dell salesperson will still be given a gold star if they’ve worked on a deal even if the VAR ended up closing it.
Questioned about retail, Claman would say only that consumers like to touch and feel a PC before buying it, apparently. Other than that he wouldn't commit to details and just said "watch this space". His answer to a question about how Dell’s website fits into its channel proposition involved Dell’s focus on the alarming-sounding concept of e-penetration. I’m sure we’ll see a big push in that direction in future.
To conclude, Claman summarised Dell’s direct + partner approach by saying “customers have the right to choose.” He stressed that Dell is well positioned to service relationships directly so it saw little reason to involve additional third parties unless they offered clear extra value. He acknowledged that it might take time for some people to consider Dell a viable channel player but “once they see our attractive proposition they will have a compelling reason to talk to us.”
The primary point of contact between Dell and its channel partners is its partner portal.
