Dell has confirmed the appointment of CMS Peripherals as its second UK and Ireland EqualLogic distributor.

Back in November, CRN exclusively revealed that Dell was looking to add a second distributor for its storage kit, alongside incumbent Hammer.

The distributor in question was thought to be storage specialist CMS and the duo will formally announce their partnership tomorrow.

CMS will also provide a range of value-add services to partners, including training, marketing support and credit terms.

Dell said CMS’ experience in iSCSI SANs was key to the appointment.

“CMS Peripherals has an exceptional reputation within its partner base as a true storage specialist and is therefore an ideal candidate to help Dell grow its EqualLogic business,” Dell said.

Dell spent last year moving closer to distribution across the globe and in March fuelled speculation that it may move to appoint a broadliner in the UK when it forged US ties with Ingram Micro and Tech Data around its PCs.

However, Dell has yet to turn to a broadliner for PCs and servers and one distribution source, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “EqualLogic is so different from Dell’s product range that I wouldn’t use this as an indication of its wider distribution strategy.”