Dell strengthens channel ties

Vendor strikes deal with Computacenter

Despite repeatedly claiming it does not and will not use the channel, direct vendor Dell has won a joint public-sector contract with Fujitsu Siemens.

The company will use reseller Computacenter to complete fulfilment and add-on services.

The estimated £7.5m contract to supply the Inland Revenue (IR) with 30,000 PCs a year has been split evenly between Fujitsu and Dell. The IR will have the option to review the contract annually.

Computacenter is contracted for five years and is currently in its second year, said Colin Brown, government sector director at the value added reseller.

"We are a one-stop-shop on behalf of the IR, but it reviews the vendors every year to make sure it is getting the best value for money," he said.

The opportunity to supply the IR with PCs was tendered out to six qualifying suppliers. Compaq and Dell, as incumbent vendors, were asked to compete with IBM, Fujitsu Siemens, Hewlett Packard and NEC.

The contract win is the result of 18 months' concerted effort by Fujitsu Siemens, according to Steve Kendall-Smith, the firm's public-sector sales director.

"I was headhunted from Dell specifically because of my public-sector experience," he said. "We spent a long time touting for this business and had a dedicated account director in place for the purpose of winning the account."

According to Kendall-Smith, vendors are becoming more flexible in the current economic climate. "I know Dell will work through Computacenter; it shows how willing people are to jump through hoops," he said.

Brown agreed. "Dell's build-to-order model doesn't match well for large organisations that want high-scale contracts, such as the IR," he said.

"Dell is using the channel reluctantly, but I don't think it is an indication that the company is going in that direction. It will use it when it has to; it's just that it is having to use it more often at the moment," he added.

The win comes three months after Fujitsu announced its Value For You channel programme, which was aimed at helping the vendor's resellers fight Dell.

Dell was unavailable for comment.