Search results for 'app:weblogs' matching tag 'Partner Direct Community'

What’s next for channel programs: Join the Channel Debate

DELL-Jeff J — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Dell is constantly asking in person, on this blog, and other places what channel partners want in a vendor program. When we launched PartnerDirect we heard three things: Simplify the program and lower my administrative costs while giving me the best products. With that direction we launched PartnerDirect less than two years ago. Today I found that CRN in the UK is asking the same question, which you can find here. What is interesting is that the responders are asking for the same kinds of things as they did two years ago: Help me make money. Work with me, not against me. Give me the tools.

Partners tell us we’ve made great strides. We also continue to build out the program and invest based on partner input. So join the CRN debate, so we can learn from your comments. Or add your comments below.

Are Dell Certified Channel Partners More Productive? Find out…

DELL-Jeff J — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:00:00 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.

Podcast: How does Dell manage conflict with the channel? Erik Dithmer Interview.

DELL-Jeff J — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:00:00 GMT

In every program there is bound to be channel conflict. So what is Dell doing about it? Listen to an interview with Dell’s Erik Dithmer, GM for Small & Medium Business Americas, as he talks about how Dell manages potential sales conflict between channel partners and the rest of Dell’s business. Listen to the podcast here.

And The Winner's Are...

DELL-Bob Sk — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GMT

This week we announced the Enterprise Architecture Partner of the Year Awards (Note: Login to the Partner Portal before linking to read the announcement). Congratulations to the winners: (National) GreenPages, Open Storage Solutions and Nviron and (Regional) Corporate IT Solutions, Syscom Technologies, Keep IT Simple, Eagle Software and OPUS Consulting Group.

Looking back at the nomination award forms, I see a number of common threads. First, these partners lead with Dell solutions to their customers, solving their critical business challenges using a consultative approach from needs assessment right through to planning and deployment. Second, despite encountering initial bumps in the PartnerDirect program road and challenges engaging with the Dell direct account team, these Partners persevered by staying the course – building relationships across all the Dell lines of business and customer segments and by figuring out how to best work together with the Dell Channel and direct account teams teams to grow their businesses. And, third, these Partners fully utilize Dell Certified Partner resources by participating in Dell training programs, holding lead generation, tradeshow, and solutions events, scheduling Call Blitz Days, and passing along incentive and promotion opportunities. In some cases, this level of engagement has earned Partners significant--even high double-digit growth year over year.

Having personally called each of these Partners to notify them of the award, I can tell you they were all very excited to be a “Partner of the Year” and looking forward to leveraging this recognition in their marketing efforts and in the press. Even more important, the awards are just one more way they’ve been rewarded for their willingness to work through challenges with us and take advantage of the Dell brand and market share opportunities. That’s the secret in the sauce.

The top 5 mistakes companies make with trimming IT budgets

DELL-Jeff J — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:00:00 GMT

As IT spending is in turmoil, the customers of our channel partners do strange things – sometimes including stopping IT spending altogether. So when I read this article in Dell’s Power Solutions Magazine, it really resonated. What channel partners should tell their customers is that the wrong decisions today will plague their IT costs for years to come. So here are the five big ideas

1. Not making the most of what you already have. Transitioning to a virtualized environment using existing systems can be significantly less expensive and more flexible than scaling your hardware infrastructure.

2. Leaving inefficient equipment in place. A major part of most IT budgets goes toward simply keeping the data center running. That’s why energy-efficient features are designed directly into Dell PowerEdge server and blade solutions. Dell channel partners can also help companies optimize the office IT environment through desktop and mobile client power management and efficient desktop computing.

3. Skimping on security and disaster recovery. Safeguarding your systems and preparing for the worst isn’t a big deal—until it is. Don’t get caught rolling the dice: calculate your potential downtime losses, define your recovery objectives, pinpoint your primary risks, and then design and size your disaster recovery systems accordingly.

4. Investing in new projects rather than existing ones. It’s tempting to look at a difficult business climate as a good time to try out completely new strategies. However, continuing to invest in existing projects is more likely to produce long-term gains.

5. Not establishing a social media strategy. Social media is poised to transform marketing and change how employees relate to each other within your company. Making a small investment now can position your company for benefits down the road.

These guys are certainly smarter than me, but I would add a couple more:

6. Maintaining multiple versions of applications, rather than standardizing on just a few.

7. Adding still more storage on to an already tortured & dispersed & non-standardized storage infrastructure, rather than consolidating.

What are your ideas? We’d like to hear them.

Read the full article here.

Partner Collaboration and Building PartnerDirect

DELL-Amie P — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

In a recent discussion on our PartnerDirect LinkedIn group, it was asked, “What would it take to make PartnerDirect the #1 channel program globally?” Jon S. was the first to respond and provided three quick, but very helpful bullet points. His three items were:

1. Build programs around VAR core competencies.
2. Build stronger infrastructure for the Dell Partner Community
3. Collaborate more openly on services

Today, I’m going to tackle item number three and let our readers chime in on all ideas to provide more insight into the conversation and gain additional feedback. I reached out to Jon asking him for suggestions on how Partners can better collaborate with Dell. In his response, Jon wrote, “collaboration is about building trust. The more online conversations there are about how Dell is collaborating with its partners, the more it builds trust based on the evidence which in turn attracts more partners that want to collaborate. Of course, you need to some foundation to work with.”

I’m curious on what collaboration means to each of you. Let’s face it, you’re busy building your business so what is the most time efficient and useful way for you to collaborate with Dell executives and our extended channel teams on an ongoing basis?

Is it attending a partner advisory councils or is it being involved in an online group, scheduled webinars with Q&A, monthly phone calls, or all the above?

Furthermore, do you feel today’s web 2.0 tools would allow for the interaction and collaboration, that partners are looking for? If you were invited to an online exclusive Dell PartnerDirect group, would you jump online daily, weekly or monthly to chat with folks like Greg Davis and our teams?

Tell us, what collaboration environment would be the best for you?

PartnerDirect on Twitter

DELL-Amie P — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

If you’re a partner or you’re in the channel industry, be sure to check us out on Twitter for latest updates from the blog as well as our Americas Channel Marketing Team. Our marketing team is providing constant information on latest webinars, certifications and much more.

You can follow us @DellChannel

You're Invited to Blog for Dell's PartnerDirect

DELL-Amie P — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Dear Dell Partner,

I'd like to invite you to take part in our Dell Channel Blog. The blog is designed to be an open forum for the greater PartnerDirect community. That's why at anytime, you're welcome to submit a guest post.

By creating a guest post on the Dell Channel blog, you can:

· Share your perspectives with other partners, vendors, Dell Channel team members, industry analysts and the public at large.

· Offer expert advice on Dell's latest products, technologies and services.

· Promote your case studies that might benefit the PartnerDirect community.

· Spark a discussion on almost any topic, from general best practices to specific trends.

· Help shape the future of the PartnerDirect program.

Here are two partnered authored posts by Doug Ford of The IT Pros and Steve Brown of Rev2 Technologies.

Posts should be approximately 150-250 words, and submitted to Amie_Paxton@Dell.com. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about blogging.

Thank you in advance for your time and participation,

Amie Paxton

Dell Channel Community Manager

Disclosure: This post was originally posted on July 18, 2008 and is being repurposed to actively recruit interested partners.

Join the Discussion on Dell’s ParnterDirect LinkedIn Group

DELL-Amie P — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Have you joined our PartnerDirect LinkedIn group? Are you taking advantage of LinkedIn’s networking capabilities and building your social equity by connections and various interest groups? If not, you’re missing out on showcasing your talents as well as joining group discussions that can truly impact your business.

On our PartnerDirect group, we’re encouraging our members to start discussions they’d like to learn more about, how-to’s, and feedback on Dell’s program. Dell’s Jeff Johnson recently started a discussion asking, How is Dell’s PartnerDirect Program Doing?

With more than a year under our belt, we’re asking constant feedback on what you need from Dell’s channel program and what you need to effectively build a relationship with Dell and build your business. Sixteen comments were posted as a response to Jeff’s discussion topic with invaluable feedback from all participants.

Here’s a sample of the ongoing conversation:

“The program is working out for our company. Margins are great and our inside team is extremely helpful.” Michael G.

“To further elaborate, the dell technology is great - support even better. Supply chain seems to be very solid still even in this economy. Purchasing enterprise or business class servers/desktops can yield beneficial margins. Trying to help smb's acquire low cost entry level hardware is not competetive through the partner program at this time.” Larry M.

Feel free to join the group and comment on this thread or our new discussion, What would it take for Dell PartnerDirect to be the #1 channel program in the world?

Connect with Dell's PartnerDirect Community

DELL-Amie P — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Did you know that Dell PartnerDirect has numerous social media resources for our current and future partners? That’s right, you can visit any one of our community tools to offer feedback, suggest ideas, receive account support and obtain information on thought leadership, programmatic updates and events.

Here’s where you can find Dell PartnerDirect’s Community:

Dell Channel Blog

Dell PartnerStorm

Dell PartnerDirect LinkedIn

Dell Facebook

Dell Channel on Twitter

Dell PartnerDirect Forums

Additional Resources:

Social Media Guides for Business Owners:

Learn to Listen

Start a Blog

Tap into Twitter