Dell Channel Blog : Certified Partners

Dell Plans to Increase Certified Partner Base

DELL-Amie P — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:10:00 GMT

Greg Davis recently spoke with CRN’s, Sara Yirrell, about growing Dell’s partner base with enhanced portal features and opening its deal registration. Read More-

Are Dell Certified Channel Partners More Productive? Find out…

DELL-Jeff J — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:15:00 GMT

Face it. A lot of channel programs have some sort of certification. Some have dozens of them – so many it is hard to know which one is right for you as a channel partner. Two weeks ago I had a chance to talk with Bob Skelley who heads up Global Enterprise Architecture for Dell’s channel to ask him two really hard questions: Why does Dell have fewer types of certifications, and are they any better than what is already out there? Naturally Bob had an answer, but it was the increased sales productivity that surprised me. Check out the interview here.

Expanded Enterprise Architecture Certification Paths

DELL-Bob Sk — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Based on Partner feedback, this week we expanded the program so it’s no longer storage-centric. This is the first update on our Enterprise Architecture (EA) Certification Program since the Dell/EqualLogic acquisition.

Dell Resellers stronger in server sales will no longer feel like a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. The EA Certification program offers a choice of three tracks: EA Certified Storage Specialist, EA Certified Server Specialist or EA Certified Partner – so you can decide how you want to invest in Dell to meet your business needs and growth goals. The different Specialist paths provide applicable benefits based on where you focus and rewards those who support the full suite of Dell’s EA server, storage and virtualization solutions.

Unlike some other industry certification programs, you’ll spend less time jumping through hoops and more time growing your business. It’s an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and requires lower Partner investment, while utilizing high-value education to enhance your ability to deliver solutions on the Dell platform.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be posting some additional blogs and podcasts offering Partner point of views on this topic and more. Want to chime in? Do you have ideas on where you’d like to see our EA Certification Program go next? Feel free to post a comment here.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION WITH DELL’S ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE CHANNEL CHIEFS

DELL-Amie P — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:10:00 GMT

Due to a conflict with Greg Davis' schedule, this event has been postponed. We will reschedule and keep all of you updated on the date & time. Thanks!

I just received the following information and I wanted to inform our Certified Partners of this upcoming webcast with Dell’s Greg Davis and Bob Skelley. See the invite below and feel free to ask me questions about the event. Thanks!

The heart of Dell’s Channel Partner Program is listening to you, our valued Channel Partners. This webcast offers you the opportunity to get some of your most important questions answered by Dell’s channel chiefs – Greg Davis, Vice President/General Manager, Global Commercial Channels and Bob Skelley, Director, Global Enterprise Architecture Channel.

Join us for a webcast on Tuesday, March 24, at 12:00 pm EST for an open question and answer dialogue. During this webcast, Bob and Greg will review:

· Dell channel update

· Enterprise Architecture product announcement highlights

· Enhancements to the Enterprise Architecture certification program

Certified Partners can register at http://tinyurl.com/dllnyb

JOIN THE CONVERSATION WITH
DELL’S ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE CHANNEL CHIEFS

Register Today for Our Live Webcast on
March 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm EST.

Tech Rate Special, Dell and CIT offers for PartnerDirect

DELL-Mike B — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:45:00 GMT

As we mentioned on Friday, Dell and CIT are offering special promotions until the end of the month for registered and qualified partners within the PartnerDirect program. To learn more about the promotion were presenting today, click on the attachment below and contact your sales rep for more details.

Feeling the Credit Crunch? Check out Dell’s Latest Partner Promotion

DELL-Amie P — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:00:00 GMT

One of the most common pieces of feedback I receive from Dell partners is their challenge to stay informed of the various promotions and offers we have available for them. As an effort to increase visibility and help saturate as many communication channels as possible, Sean Phalen, Director of America Storage Sales, sent me this latest promotion over to be evangelized on our social network

In order to get the word out as soon as possible, I won’t list the specifics in this post, but I’ve attached the pdf announcing terms and conditions that Dell and CIT are offering to qualified customers.

Dell PartnerDirect helps Nalta win new business

DELL-Amie P — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:30:00 GMT

Nalta bases all of its storage solutions on EqualLogic iSCS technology. So when Dell acquired the storage company, Nalta saw a long term opportunity to engage with Dell and continue building their strategic vision. Nalta, based in the Netherlands, with 25 employees quickly became a Certified Dell Partner and a member of the PartnerDirect program. By establishing their relationship with Dell and by implementing a dedicated channel account manager, they ensured Nalta’s access to the EqualLogic products at discounted prices.

“We tailor our solutions to the precise needs of each customer. We’re a long-term partner, rather than a short-term vendor. Services are at the core of what we do.”

Mike Veldhuis, Project Director, Nalta

The overall benefits of Nalta’s relationship with Dell are:

More sales through collaboration and co-marketing
Seamless customer experience
Reduced product development costs
Single point of contact

The Dell channel team congratulates Nalta on their success, to read more about Nalta’s story, download their case study, A Logical Choice.

Rev2 Technologies – Providing the Missing Link

DELL-Amie P — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:00:00 GMT

“The services Rev2 and Dell provide are enabling CA to effectively outsource the manufacturing of the CA|Wily CEM solution while maximizing gross profits."
- Steve Brown, partner, Rev2 Technologies

I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Brown two weeks ago during his trip to our Round Rock headquarters. As far as Dell partners go, Rev2 Technologies is one of the most adept I've seen at being ready, able and, most importantly, willing to go the distance for their customers. The growth and development of his business is reflected through his sharp business acumen teamed with a customer-first philosophy. In this featured case study, Rev2 Technologies rises against the challenge and helps CA accommodate 500% growth in its CA/Wily CEM product over 2 years utilizing Dell’s PartnerDirect program.

Rev2, has many success stories to share with other partners and the channel industry. Read their In Step with Dell case study, check them out on Facebook, Twitter and hear their latest podcast with our own Jeff Johnson, Global Channel Marketing, on how to simplify and save utilizing Dell technologies, or read their blog posts here.

Partners are welcome to submit questions for Rev2 Technologies on their successes, growth strategies and more.

The I.T. Pros, Dell Certified Partner, Recognized as a Top 100 MSP

DELL-Amie P — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:07:00 GMT

Dell’s Certified Partner, The I.T. Pros, landed on MSP Mentor’s second annual top 100 MSP report this week. The report distinguishes and identifies the world’s most progressive managed service providers.

"The I.T. Pros is very pleased to be ranked with one hundred of the top MSP’s in the World," said Doug Ford, President of The I.T. Pros. "As a Dell Certified Managed Service Partner we’ve leveraged the tools and resources available from Dell to launch our managed service practice into overdrive. Growing at a rate of over 100% annually since 2001 we are strategically positioned to make a big impact in the SMB marketplace in 2009 by helping small businesses survive a failing economy by doing more with less."

Doug’s enthusiasm and savvy, no doubt led to this outstanding recognition. We’ll continue to hear more from Doug and his team on the Dell Channel Blog and you can also find Doug on Twitter, @dougford99. You can contact The I.T. Pros at http://www.theitpros.net/ for more information on their company and services.

I’d also like to recognize Joe Panettieri for his hard work and coverage of the MSP industry. He realizes the potential of MSPs as well as the tremendous growth that’s occurring in managed services revenue. For those interested in learning more about MSPMentor, visit the site at http://www.mspmentor.net and you can find the full report at http://www.mspmentor.net/resource-center/

A message from Josh Claman

DELL-Amie P — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:31:00 GMT

By now you will have seen the announcements we have been making about changes to our organisation to introduce global customer business units. Dell is organising itself globally around four major customer segments - Large Enterprise, Public, Small and Medium Business, and Consumer (already operating globally).

I appreciate that you will have many questions at this point on how Dell’s reorganisation affects our channel business and partners. I want to emphasise that the new structure does not affect Dell’s ongoing commitment to our partners globally. We have worked hard to earn your trust. While our channel partners will not be directly affected by the restructuring, the efficiencies and synergies that result from this should positively influence our channel business and better position it to serve partners and your customers.

PartnerDirect has been critical to the success of our business. In a little over twelve months, we have 36,000 registered partners across 148 countries. Dell’s revenue from solution providers grew from $9 billion to $12 billion worldwide, and the PartnerDirect portal is available in 19 languages. This success means that we remain committed to our partners and to growing PartnerDirect.

Over the past year, we’ve made every effort to listen to our channel partners and to respond to their needs to simplify IT, reduce costs and maximise productivity. In 2008, Dell made significant accomplishments in driving simplification around:

· Supercomputing
· De-duplication
· Disaster recovery
· Virtualization

With the changes to the organisation, I’d like to take this opportunity to announce that Greg Davis, General Manager of Americas Channel Group will assume a global role in running our channel business. Greg launched PartnerDirect in the US, and has accomplished several significant milestones, including recruiting around 16,000 partners in North America. We will formally announce the European team and more details on the reorganisation in the near future.

It was a privilege to launch Dell’s first partner program across eighteen countries in Europe, and an exciting and fulfilling challenge for me. Over the last twelve months we built a compelling and robust program for our partners in Europe like no other.

As you may have seen, going forward I will be leading the Public business in EMEA, which is an exciting new challenge for me. Over the years we have all seen how technology can fundamentally help improve the lives of every citizen. We help our public customers use technology to address challenges that matter to us all – the education of our children, the effectiveness of our healthcare, our safety, democracy and efficiency of the public services we use every day.

I am confident that Greg will continue to grow and expand PartnerDirect, and that his new role will provide even more global efficiencies for Dell’s world-class partner program. Please join me in welcoming Greg to this new chapter in Dell’s history and journey.

All the best for 2009.

Josh Claman