Dell swells channel ranks amid partner growth

Harrison: we would encourage them to begin identifying virtualisation opportunities within their customer base

Dell is boosting its channel headcount by a quarter and has slashed its deal registration threshold on all its technology to £10,000.

Earlier this week, the vendor signed off on a 25 per cent increase in channel staff in the UK encompassing field-based channel development managers, telephone-based channel account managers and pre-sales staff. The increase will be replicated across EMEA where Dell has more than 300 channel-centric staff.

UK channel country manager Paul Harrison revealed that 22 per cent of Dell’s global revenues are now generated by the channel ­- up from 16 per cent last year. Dell Certified partners in EMEA are growing by an average of 28 per cent year-on-year, he added.

“We want to capitalise on the success we have had,” said Harrison.

In the summer, Dell lowered its deal registration threshold for storage deals to £10,000. That has now been extended to its full product range.

Harrison said this would help partners win smaller deals in a climate where end users are increasingly taking a continuous approach to upgrading their architecture.

“Customer buying cycles are evolving to a more modular approach as they look to leverage technologies when they become available, rather than the pre-recession big bang approach,” he said.

The vendor has also drawn up nine ‘channel opportunities’ based on feedback from partners. Harrison said virtualisation is key to each one.

“If resellers are not in that marketplace we would encourage them to begin identifying virtualisation opportunities within their customer base,” he said.

Cliff Fox, managing director of Dell Certified partner SICL, said: “Dell is very partner-active now ­ more so than most players in the channel. EqualLogic has been one of our biggest sellers throughout the recession.”