Dell Channel Blog

One of the interesting observations I have made since joining Dell in February is the difference between partners that have never sold Dell EqualLogic and those that had been selling and partnering with the former EqualLogic organization for months or years. Some of those “legacy EqualLogic” partners have a different perspective. With EqualLogic they had partnered with a company that sold primarily through the channel and thus they have a set of expectations built off that perspective. Since the acquisition, some are understandably reluctant to engage with us because of Dell’s direct business model heritage.  They have overlooked how compelling the overall value proposition is for their company and their profit margin.  They forget that their selling investments are protected through a deal registration program, that they have  an opportunity to close business at strong margin, and that they can deliver one of the most customer friendly products in the storage industry. 

Some partners have jumped at the opportunity – they recognized the validation this gives the Dell EqualLogic storage solution and they have doubled down on their investment with Dell. They are winning everyday and doing so in an environment that opens new opportunities, new leads, new customers and returns great customer satisfaction from their clients.

Has it been perfect? No. But they have seen and experienced a level of commitment and interest in channel support that they never imagined possible from Dell. Many of them told me exactly that last week during our first Dell Partner Advisory Council. What I also heard was that traditional Dell channel partners and resellers recognized the Dell EqualLogic solution and channel model as something they needed to be involved with and needed to invest in. They saw an opportunity. They saw a channel centric business model that they could invest in and they made commitments to do just that. The grass truly is always greener…these partners saw very little downside to partnering with Dell and leveraging the Dell EqualLogic solution as a foundation for growth. They carried none of the reservations I have seen from a few of the legacy EqualLogic partners.

So how can you take advantage of this opportunity and be an early adopter? Well first, take a leap of faith! There is a huge opportunity to leverage the Dell EqualLogic product line to build your channel partnership around Dell. There is also a new blade server product for the channel with a similar margin opportunity. And more products to come. Join the PartnerDirect program by going to www.dell.com/partner to register and begin getting updates from Dell’s channel group. Send me an email and tell me why you are hesitating to get engaged with Dell…I’d like to know what is holding you back.