Foundry may drop Dell

Reseller re-examines 'casual' relationship with vendor

Bobby Johnson, chief executive of Foundry Networks, has said the firm is re-examining its reseller relationship with Dell, following the announcement last month that the direct vendor will introduce its own networking products by the end of this year.

Cisco, 3Com and Hewlett Packard (HP) dropped Dell as a partner last month.

Johnson told CRN that Foundry has a "casual" relationship with Dell and that the vendor was an "occasional" partner.

"Foundry doesn't want casual relationships. In Europe we have very strong OEM relationships with companies such as HP. Dell doesn't fit our business model.

"They have to be either really direct or have some long-term relationship with us," he said. "There is a high possibility we will be joining Cisco [in dropping Dell]."

Some industry observers have commented on why Cisco and Foundry, known for their higher-end kit, would see a commodity player such as Dell as a threat.

Keith Humphreys, consultant at EuroLan research, said: "It would be like sleeping with the enemy. They don't want to teach Dell how to sell and develop networking products."

Foundry, which was tipped by analyst firm the Yankee Group as the number-two alternative to Cisco in the networking arena, also said it was gaining ground on its main rival.

Andy Palmer, managing director of EMEA at Foundry, said many VARs were looking to migrate from Cisco to Foundry because of the amount of competition in the Cisco channel.

"It becomes all about price, which has an impact on margins," he said. "Our channel is growing both locally and nationally. We are seeking partners and they are seeking us."