Today, Dell announced nationwide availability of its ProManage-Managed Services. This means our U.S.-based PartnerDirect members can now expand their services portfolio and create a whole new revenue stream. Our ultimate goal is to save time and money for customers, so they can focus on growing their own businesses — which is especially important in this constrained economy.
The Road to Managed Services
Dell PartnerDirect began its journey with managed services by offering pilot programs in Dallas and New York City. Through these pilot programs, we learned that:
- Customers are interested in managed services and concerned about maximizing uptime.
- Partners can play an important role in the MSP relationships, particularly when customers have a unique need for value-added services.
- Some small and medium-sized businesses only feel comfortable in purchasing these services from their local channel partners.
To help protect customer relationships, we implemented Managed Services Deal Registration during the New York pilot program and now will be extending nationwide. This enables partners to submit new opportunities and receive 120 days of deal registration protection — the same as Certified Partners for hardware. Also, Dell will not sell into Dell Certified MSP contract accounts.
For over a year, Dell PartnerDirect has offered an MSP certification that allows partners to build their own MSP solutions using scalable technology from Dell. Starting today, U.S.-based PartnerDirect members have a second option — they can now offer ProManage-Managed Services by becoming an Authorized Sales Agent. The benefits of these options are explained below.
By the end of this year, we’ll also offer a co-delivery solution, where Dell hosts the platform, trains the MSP, provides the NOC and reports service levels to the partner. The partner interacts with the customer, provides the Service Desk, brands the service, conducts onsite work and provides customer reports.
Dell’s Managed Services Offerings for Channel Partners
Beginning in April 2009, our U.S.-based PartnerDirect members have two options for offering Dell’s managed services: 1) by becoming Authorized Sales Agents for Dell ProManage-Managed Services, or 2) getting licensed as Dell MSP Certified Partners. Both options include:
- Training and marketing materials
- Managed Services Deal Registration
- The benefit of scalable MSP technology from Dell
Why Become an Authorized Sales Agent for ProManage-Managed Services?
As Authorized Sales Agents for Dell’s ProManage-Managed Services, partners can:
• Free their technical resources from basic IT maintenance
• Build long-term annuity streams based on revenue share
• Reduce business risk — There are no partner delivery obligations or out-of-pocket costs; Dell provides 100% of the remote and on-site delivery, contracts and end-user billing.
• Expand their services portfolio with a great program to increase uptime for end users
• Ease their entry into MSP business, while transitioning to their own MSP solutions
Once partners have enrolled and completed training to become Authorized Sales Agents, they are in control of the customer sales process. This mirrors the Dell Direct offering in terms of contract options, pricing and service delivery. Dell will perform the initial technical assessment and provide a proposal based on the results. After the customer signs the agreement, partners will receive revenue share for the life of the contract.
The Authorized Sales Agent program is a win-win. The program is designed to align Dell and its partners in jointly serving accounts over an extended period. Dell delivers the comprehensive, proactive maintenance services for the customer’s IT environment, while partners maintain their roles as trusted advisors to the customer. In addition, partners can continue to provide their own high value-add services beyond maintenance.
Why Get Licensed as a Dell MSP Certified Partner?
By getting the training and technology licenses of Dell MSP Certification, partners can:
• Build their own MSP business based on Dell’s Managed Services technology platform
• Get the flexibility to design, market and price their own unique offerings
• Benefit from the scalability of Dell’s hosted remote monitoring and management platforms
• Learn how to accelerate their business through Dell coaching and business builder training
• Maintain full account control — with full responsibility for branding, contracts, billing and service delivery
What’s Next in MSP Offerings for Partners
As mentioned earlier, for partners who consider maintenance revenue as core to their business, Dell has plans to launch a co-delivery offering by the end of this year. Also, for partners who become Authorized Sales Agents, they will be allowed to transition their accounts to these new offering models, based on approvals from end users.
For More Information
For questions or comments about our managed services offerings, partners are encouraged to talk with Dell’s PartnerDirect Managed Services sales team. We welcome all feedback about the program, as we continually work to improve the partner experience. In addition, stay tuned for more blog posts around this ProManage-Managed Services launch.
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