Joyce Mullen (Dell EMC)
Dell EMC has rolled out a fresh round of channel changes capable of providing partners with access to the vendor’s entire technology portfolio.
The Dell Technologies Partner Program - rebranded during Global Partner Summit in Las Vegas - aligns with plans to create an ecosystem of providers offering an end-to-end technology solution set.
“Our partners asked us to make it easier to do business across our full Dell Technologies portfolio, so we made it a top priority,” said Joyce Mullen, president of global channel at Dell EMC. “By providing our partners with a clear roadmap and investing in training and development, partners will win even more deals and grow their business.”
In February, the technology giant announced that VMware solutions purchased through Dell would count toward Dell EMC Partner Program tier requirements.
Now, the vendor is expanding this initiative to include all sales from “strategically aligned businesses” transacted through the Dell Technologies Partner Program.
“Partners don’t want to do business with more vendors, they prefer a simplified product set and supply chain so they can focus their efforts around certifications, training and technical skills,” added Mullen, when addressing channel media.
“Our goal is clear in that we want our partners to be able to buy whatever they need from our family of brands. We have a different strategy compared to our competitors and given our share gains, we believe that this strategy is working.”
Further changes include the unveiling of two new solution badges composed of already in-market certifications, spanning Dell Technologies Cloud Platform and Dell Technologies Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.
Under the new program, the vendor has also rolled out a new cloud competency designed to support the newly announced Dell Technologies Cloud solution, as reported by Channel Asia.
The competency will be comprised of the Dell Technologies Cloud Platform Badge and other certifications, which includes Services Delivery Competency on VxRail.
“Many of our partners earned this competency last year, which means they already have the foundational deployment certifications to accelerate this new cloud competency,” explained Mullen, citing that full cloud competency certification requirements will be announced during the third quarter of 2019.
Through such solutions, the program plans to recognise related credentials and certifications earned from strategically aligned businesses that support joint solutions.
“We believe an opportunity exists for partners because of the complexity that is now introduced to the market through multiple servers, cloud platforms and solutions,” Mullen explained.
“But also, we understand that trust is key in the channel. That’s something we’re going to continue to focus on because nothing happens without it. We also know that within one nano-second, someone can make a bad decision and impact our reputation for a long time.”
As reported by Channel Asia, the new program opens the door to an umbrella group of products, ranging from Dell, Dell EMC, VMware and RSA, in addition to Secureworks, Boomi, Virtustream and Pivotal.
“The least mature channel model we have is Secureworks but we’re adding skews which are capabilities aimed at Gold and Authorised partners interested in selling security,” Mullen said. “At this stage, that’s not available everywhere in the world but we see a clear path to expanding our reach in that respect.”
In looking ahead, Mullen said the vendor is concentrating on streamlining incentives further in an effort to drive partner profitability.
“We haven’t figured this out yet,” Mullen acknowledged. “Yes, there’s lots of incentives in the market but we want to create a scenario in which one plus one equals three, especially when the partner is doing the hard work of integrating our solutions.
“This is on our priority list of things to tackle which will feature in the next iteration of our program which will take place next year.”
James Henderson travelled to Dell Technologies World as a guest of Dell Technologies.
