Dell chief to open up business to channel

Dell’s new UK channel head has pledged to open doors for partners into all areas of the vendor’s business.

Paul Harrison was unveiled last week as the official replacement for Andy Dow, with the title of UK channel lead (Channelweb, 18 February). He will head up the firm’s UK channel sales team and the PartnerDirect programme, and will report into Emanuel Mouquet, head of Dell’s EMEA channel team. Harrison was previously UK and Ireland country manager for Dell EqualLogic.

Speaking to CRN, Harrison said: “There has been a lot of change within Dell and we have already alluded to the re-segmentation of the business, but the missing piece has been where the channel fits in. It will be integrated into all the segments [public sector, enterprise, SME and consumer]. It is a priority to make sure our partners have access to all the teams. There are not many doors in Dell that I cannot open for partners; I am passionate about banging the channel drum.”

The vendor is holding a seminar for its sales teams in the coming weeks, with a large focus of that being how they can work with the channel, Harrison said.

He also plans to meet as many partners as possible over the coming weeks, through meetings, roundtables, seminars and training sessions.

Adam Maurice, managing director of Dell Certified partner The Internet Group, said Dell has some catchup work to do.

“Our main issue is, will he just focus on EqualLogic, which is a larger business application rather than SME?” he said. “What we need is someone who can make things happen. We will look to arrange a meeting with Paul as soon as possible.”

Cliff Fox, managing director of Dell Certified partner SICL, said: “We are a Certified Dell EqualLogic partner. The commitment with partners from that side of the business has been good, so if he is bringing that into the Dell mainstream, it would be fantastic for us.”