May 2009 - Dell Channel Blog

Channel partners need to meet the expectations of increasingly mobile end users, yet still help their customers manage IT and budgets.  This is where Dell Channel Partners can use their services to manage them. In this Webinar, attendees will learn about how Dell and Intel technology can help partners cost-effectively deliver services that make them a hero with customers, and generate rich opportunities for services engagements.  Hear the latest strategies on mobility deployment techniques and technology, and find out how to generate services engagements out of them. By understanding the customer and the changing IT landscape, partners will be able to turn customer challenges into sales and services opportunities. Simply book your place using the links below.

Register here for June 3^rd, 2009, 12pm CST (US)

Register here for June 7^th, 2009 12pm India

Register here for June 20^th, 2009 CST (US)

This week I have been attending the ChannelExpo 2009 show in Birmingham, UK. The show had a great turn out and for me was an ideal opportunity to meet with partners, customers and members of the UK IT trade press at our Dell stand.

For Dell, the event marked 16 eventful months in the channel. Reflecting on this opening period and what we’ve learnt was the focus of my keynote speech in the seminar theatre on the first day.  Talking with existing and prospective partners encouraged me that we are making the right enhancements to PartnerDirect.  We now have over 17,000 partners across EMEA and our channel business is worth $11bn worldwide.

One of the key things we have taken from the last year is the value of feedback from partners in developing the programme.  This is why we created the Partner Advisory Councils (having just held our second one last month in London and attended by Michael Dell). Without partner input we genuinely would not have got to where we are now, and have the planned enhancements for the next 12 months.

Our recent company re-organisation is another enhancement allowing us to integrate our partners and business segments. The channel is now woven into everything we do.  This combined with the changes to internal processes that encourage and reward our internal teams working with the channel means we are continuously evolving. The initial concerns the partner community had towards Dell’s commitment to wholeheartedly adopting a channel model are disappearing rapidly.

Our partners are evolving too.  Charles Darwin is often misquoted as saying “survival of the fittest”. What he actually said was the species most responsive to change are the ones that survive. This is happening across our eco-system too, as partners move from broad coverage to specialisation in services and vertical solutions.

This clear differentiation is something we are striving for in our partners and our PartnerDirect programme – the desire to stand out above the rest.  Dell is committed to becoming the No.1 partner rated programme through listening, engaging and enabling our partners to lead with Dell.

The year ahead is set to be a challenging one for the whole industry as we work through the world economic crisis. However, I’m confident that our partners are accepting the challenge in the right way by adapting and evolving how they work with their customers, in the same way that we are evolving the programme that serves them.

I’ve spent the last two days training channel partners on the new Latitude 2100, and the response (and timing) has been overwhelmingly positive. As a product offering it should be really interesting to channel partners who serve the education and training markets – a thin, light netbook with enterprise-class centralized management. As a services opportunity, however, it presents even a greater opportunity for channel partners. Think about it…a netbook learning device where the channel partner can provide managed services, using tools that are already developed. Check out the press release and the product brochures and let me know what you think about it.

The Dell mobility sales webinar: May 27^th, 2009, 12pm CST (US)

With more than 3 million customer conversations a day, Dell certainly knows how to sell laptops.  Now we’re sharing this with our partners in a webinar that shares best practices, information and the latest thinking on selling mobility and mobile-enabled technology. By understanding your customers, you’ll learn the best ways to sell and maximize their business objectives, turning you from a reseller into a trusted advisor.

This seminar will include:

· The differences between laptop types, and which customers present the best sales opportunities – laptops, netbooks, tablets, ultraportables, workstations, and rugged.

· How to have sales conversations that identify your customers’ needs and deliver the right solution

· Where the best services opportunities are, and what tools & technology you get from Dell and Intel make your delivery fast and cost effective

· Dell client brands, offering ultimate in durability, security, and extra-extended battery life – powered by Intel Centrino® 2 vPro™ Technology

Simply book your place by registering below

REGISTER HERE

In the third and final part of his series on MSPMentor, How to Fail as a Managed Service Provider, Peter Klanian discusses five more common blunders aspiring MSPs should avoid. If you've encountered any of the errors mentioned in the series, feel free to share your best practices in the comments section below.