EMC Solution Centres take flight

Vendor aims to boost its partner scheme with centres to demonstrate hardware and software

Ambitious plans: MTI's Velocity2 Signature Solution Centre is paving the way for the 37 new centres that EMC plans to open by the end of 2009

Storage giant EMC has revealed ambitious plans to open a string of new Velocity2 Signature Solution Centres across EMEA.

The company is gearing up for a total of 37 openings across EMEA by the end of 2009, which will include centres in Greece, Russia and Dubai at the beginning of next year.

Unveiling its new facilities today, reseller MTI has become the 23rd EMC Signature partner to open a centre in the region. Based in Godalming, the firm’s Velocity2 Signature Solution Centre is the second to be unveiled in the UK.

Corporate VAR Computacenter was the first to open a UK-based EMC Velocity2 Signature Solution Centre in Hatfield last year (Channelweb, 1 October, 2007). Two more centres are due to open by the end of this year, with Dimension Data and Systemic poised to reveal centres in South Africa and Paris, respectively.

All 23 existing centres across EMEA are designed to demonstrate hardware and software solutions, provide training and accreditation, and test concepts in the Integration Labs that match a particular end-user’s environment.

Chain reaction
Peter Yarwood, EMEA tier-one partners and commercial sales director for EMC, said: “We have opened 17 Solution Centres so far this year and there are three more to come – ­ MTI being one of the three.

“Each centre has a different focus so there is no conflict among partners, especially in terms of where they are geographically. For example, there are four centres in France, but they remain differentiated from one another so there is no overlap.”

EMC started with just five centres in the last quarter of 2007, and plans to open a further 12 centres next year, according to Yarwood.
Last year, EMC launched the Enhanced Velocity2 Partner Programme in EMEA, compressing the previously five-tiered programme into three tiers (Channelweb, 12 March 2007).

In February this year, EMC’s partner programme saw another facelift as the Velocity2 Partner Programme and Authorised Services Network (ASN) were folded together, in response to requests from partners (Channelweb, 4 February).

Since then Signature and Premier Velocity partners have been asked to pass an accreditation in at least one of the ASN’s five technology areas: consolidation, backup, archive, security, or content. The vendor’s top tier is the Signature level, which includes the Solutions Centre. Signature partners are also required to hit revenues of $5m (£3.2m) before they can be considered for a centre.

MTI is an EMC Velocity2 Signature Partner, having achieved the top level of EMC accreditation for it sales representatives, solution engineers and consulting services team.

On the opening of MTI’s new centre, Yarwood said: “MTI met the requirements needed for a Solutions Centre and showed the willingness to take it on board. The two UK centres have different focuses: Computacenter focuses on Exchange solutions and MTI’s specialisation will be in archiving.”

Centre point
Aad Dekker, chief marketing officer at MTI, said: “The opening of the new centre means we have played by the rules and hit revenue targets. Our partners now have somewhere to work with us as a solutions provider, and our customers have a space where they can come and test a solution before purchasing it.”

He said the centre will be unveiled to MTI’s partners first, before EMC officially opens it in the afternoon.
“MTI is also a VMware partner, so there will be a lot of emphasis on virtualisation in the centre. We currently participate in EMC’s virtualisation programme as one of its specialist areas,” said Dekker.

The centre can accommodate 100 people for up to seven hours in dedicated rooms.
“There are rooms available for groups of between 12 and 14 people, and we will offer seminars, roundtables and workshops for visitors.”

The centre will be branded as the MTI/EMC Solutions Centre.
Solution Centres also share information with each other and EMC is encouraging partners to build a community this way, Yarwood added.

“Partners with Solution Centres are showing other partners what can be done in their facilities and are discussing what does not work to prevent other companies from making the same mistakes.”
He cited the example of EMC Signature partner Proact, based in Helsinki, which has been demonstrating the benefits of its

Solutions Centre to two of EMC’s Russian partners and two other partners from the Middle East.

“By sharing information and ideas between Solution Centres, it strengthens EMC’s position and strengthens its partners,” he said.

“Most are happy to share – ­ it works both ways. A partner in Helsinki may find something useful from another partner in return for their help.”