Smart IT resellers and service providers know success involves a personal touch – taking the time to get to know each customer’s unique situation, needs and goals.
I’ve heard Dell’s Channel Chief, Greg Davis, tell employees, media, analysts and partners themselves that our channel partners are our customers, and that means Dell also needs to service their unique needs and goals.
That’s why we announced today, several enhancements to our PartnerDirect partner program, including four new software competencies, a new service provider program and a referral program.
While about 70 percent of our current hardware partners are selling software on some level, enabling all of our channel partners to sell end-to-end solutions through one simple program will streamline their processes and increase their opportunities to grow business profitability.
Cloud, big data, mobility and security are hot topics and trends their customers will be asking about. Dell leadership has been transforming our company to bring hardware, software and services together to help our partners address those challenges.
- Enterprise mobility is expected to reach $181.39 billion by 2017, with a compounded annual growth rate of 15.17 percent.
- IDC found that the identity and access management market was $4.4 billion in 2012, growing at 9.4 percent. Dell has grown 27.1 percent and is 8th largest IAM vendor
- Gartner reports that in 2012 IT operations and management software generated $18 billion in revenue, and is expected to grow 8 percent in 2013.
Other IT vendors have tried to create software and hardware partner programs that would enable them to take advantage of these market opportunities, but our approach is much more simple and flexible.
Since its inception Dell’s PartnerDirect program was built on a foundation of ease of doing business; and through the years, that commitment has only grown stronger. By now bringing all of our acquired software channel programs into PartnerDirect, we give our partners a single program with end-to-end solution offerings. And, we do so with the flexibility our partners need to meet their individual business needs. Dell recognizes that our more than 140,000 partners worldwide are going to have many different business models. Some prefer to specialize in an area such as security, while others are generalists that cover the network from data center to client, and PartnerDirect gives each of them a path to achieve the highest levels in the program.
Others are managed service providers or IT influencers for whom the reseller model is not conducive. So, effective with the launch of our enhanced program, PartnerDirect will offer them both service provider and referral programs. The goal is to offer flexibility and choice – no matter how the partner does business.
The new competencies will enable our combined channel partner community of software- and hardware-focused partners, and partners selling a combination of both, to open additional business opportunities with the new and existing clients.
Training required to achieve a competency is free of charge in PartnerDirect, but Dell understands it still costs our partners from the standpoint of the investment of time. We have consistently found, however, that Certified Partners can grow their Dell business up to 4x faster than basic Registered Partners, and partners with multiple competencies grow up to 4x faster than partners with a single competency. Sounds like a pretty compelling reason to engage in training!
So, if you’re a Dell PartnerDirect partner, we hope you’ll consider the potential these program enhancements can bring to your business. And, if you’re not a PartnerDirect partner yet, we hope you’ll explore the potential that comes with being a Dell partner. One vendor. One program. End-to-end solutions for your customers!
