The VAR Guy

In the holiday spirit, I think it is important that we all take the time to reflect on the year, be thankful for what we have and to remember those less fortunate than we are.  I’ve had the pleasure of working at Dell since 2006 and the company has a great “Make a Difference” program that encourages employees to volunteer their time and has a match program for charitable donations.  It’s made a real difference with a number of local, national and international organizations, so I thought it would be great to hear what our partners are doing as well.

Michael Dell is set to keynote Dell World on October 13 in Austin, Texas. So what message will Michael Dell deliver to Dell’s customers and channel partners? Hmmm… Chances are, Michael Dell will describe how the PC giant remains committed to hardware even as it pushes into cloud services, managed services, IT consulting, networking and more. Here’s an educated guess on what Dell will say…

Social media has revolutionized the marketing world as we knew it before the turn of the century—before marketers threw a bunch of stuff at customers to see what would stick—and most of it was a one-way conversation. Putting your message out in the market is one thing, but having someone listen is another.  With social media, not only are people listening, but they are engaging, sharing and influencing a vast network of people around the globe. So how do you start? Here are some clues.

Dell Global Channel Chief Greg Davis (pictured) has been on the phone with partners in recent days, discussing Hewlett-Packard’s decision to try and sell off or spin off its PC business. Based on that news, Dell is preparing to put some messaging out to HP partners. Here’s a preview.

Dell’s Q2 fiscal 2012 earnings results, disclosed today, included a reduced revenue forecast that disappointed Wall Street and investors. But The VAR Guy has a piece of advice for Dell PartnerDirect resellers and VARs: Ignore Wall Street and focus on this reality check to help you pinpoint where Dell is heading next.

Michael Dell and top executives from Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Intel and VMware are confirmed to speak at the first-ever Dell World conference (Oct. 12-14, Austin, Texas). The event will attempt to help CIOs manage the Virtual Era of IT. Are channel partners invited? Absolutely yes. As Dell Channel Chief Greg Davis stated to The VAR Guy, “You know we welcome partners in all of our events.” Here’s the update.

Check in with Dell and you’ll discover growing momentum for the company’s channel partner program — Dell PartnerDirect. But that’s not all. After going quiet on the channel social media front, Dell is preparing a global social media channel strategy for its next fiscal year. Details are still emerging but here’s what The VAR Guy knows so far.

At first glance, Dell is social-media savvy. The company’s IdeaStorm site allows customers to brainstorm ideas with the PC giant. The Direct2Dell blog is a timely read for customers, partners and journalists tracking the company. And Dell has received a social media award from AMI-Partners. But take a closer look: Dell’s channel-related social media efforts have gone silent at a time when Lenovo and other rivals are raising their social media voices in the channel. Here’s the update.

Dell is looking to make the path to the cloud less of a hassle, with their new Virtual Integrated System Architecture (VIS). It’s designed to support a mix of hardware and software  environments to provide customers with the best of the best, without compromising on compatibility. Sound too good to be true? Here’s a closer look at Dell’s VIS strategy.

The VAR Guy plans to enjoy the entire three-day Labor Day Weekend here in the U.S. But before our resident blogger unplugs for the extended weekend, here are six channel partner blog entries The VAR Guy’s team didn’t have a chance to write for the week ending Sept. 3, 2010.

The partnership between Dell and Juniper Networks has already resulted in an agreement calling for Dell to resell Juniper’s EX Series Ethernet Switches and SRX Series Services Gateways under its PowerConnect brand. Future plans include adding Juniper’s MX Router series to the lineup, rounding out Dell’s network infrastructure offerings. So what’s in it for channel partners?

Dell’s acquisition of KACE earlier this year netted the computing behemoth hardware and expertise to help it penetrate the systems management space. Problem was, KACE’s product lineup required a certain level of expertise to set up and manage, and a good number of Dell customers were of the plug-and-play variety. So, what’s Dell’s KACE strategy? Here are some clues.

Even as Wall Street expresses concern about Dell’s margins, Dell Channel Chief Greg Davis is crowing about several PartnerDirect partner program milestones. To wit, Dell’s U.S. channel business is growing at twice the industry rate, and U.S. partners now register roughly 1,200 deals per week with Dell, Davis says. So what’s next? Here are some clues from Davis.

Sure, hardware and software companies have built numerous portals for their channel partners. Some are big hits. Others are ugly misses. But here’s a twist: Laurus Technologies,  a Certified Dell Partner in Itasca, Ill., has built a rather intriguing portal that could bolster customer loyalty. Here are the details.

Hewlett-Packard’s latest quarterly results, announced today, beat Wall Street’s expectations and CEO Mark Hurd is raising earnings guidance for 2010. HP sounds downright bullish. Will Michael Dell be equally bullish when Dell announces earnings on Feb. 18? Here are some clues, some of which involve Dell’s PartnerDirect partner program.

Good news and bad news seem to be spreading across the IT channel. Hardware sales are picking up. But companies such as Dell Inc. (as well as Dell’s components suppliers) are having a difficult time fulfilling partner and customer demand. In particular, the supply chain issues seem to be impacting selected Dell PowerEdge server shipments. Here’s the scoop.

It was another week of planes, trains and automobiles for The VAR Guy. Alas, here are six channel blog entries The VAR Guy failed to write for the week ending Oct. 9, and their implications for readers.

When Dell recruited channel veteran Nancy Reynolds to run the company’s PartnerDirect global enterprise channel business, The VAR Guy wondered: What attracted Reynolds to the position? Actually, it’s a three-part answer. Here’s the scoop, based on a conversation a few minutes ago with Reynolds.

Dell Global Channel Chief Greg Davis is calling in reinforcements to help strengthen Dell’s enterprise partner initiatives. Specifically, Dell has hired Nancy Reynolds — a well-known channel veteran — to lead Dell’s global channel business strategy for PartnerDirect, focusing on Dell’s large enterprise channel business.

Ah, The VAR Guy isn’t a big fan of “agent” oriented partner programs, where VARs and managed service providers earn a minimal fee for reselling somebody else’s service. Still, Dell’s new ProManage-Managed Services offering includes some new twists on the old agent models. And Dell is working overtime to make sure VARs don’t consider the new nationwide (US) program a direct sales move. You can get the facts and anlysis over on The VAR Guy’s sister site, MSPmentor.

Dell’s channel blog caught The VAR Guy’s eye this morning. In it, the company announced a zero percent, one year financing option for qualified EqualLogic partners working with qualified customers in the United States. Here’s how it works.

Are Dell and Hewlett-Packard trading blows in the enterprise networking market? Well, almost. Only a day after Hewlett-Packard launched a data center networking offensive, Dell fired back and rallied channel partners around Cisco Systems solutions. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

Following a surprise New Years Eve reorganization at Dell, the company is reaching out to partners and assuring them the PC giant remains committed to their success. Greg Davis, who makes the leap from North America Channel Chief to Global Channel Chief, offered up this blog to offer peace of mind to the channel and Dell’s PartnerDirect members.