Dell-Compellent deal appeases partners

Storage vendor's partners give channel programme integration a cautious welcome

When the idea of the Dell-Compell­ent merger was first mooted at the end of last year, the news was met with trepidation from the SAN vendor's channel partners.

Several Compellent partners CRN spoke to at the time voiced concerns over Dell's reputation for taking deals direct and how the integration of their partner programmes could affect their margins.

Partners also feared Compellent's hands-on approach and personal contact with the channel would be lost if the firm was swallowed up by a much larger rival.

This view was shared by Simon Kelson, managing director of Com­pellent VAR Atlanta Technology. "Initially, our main concern was Dell's ability to maintain the respect that Compellent holds for its partners because of the key role they have played in getting its business to where it is today," he said.

Since then, the acquisition has been completed, the Compel­lent brand has joined the Dell storage family and partners seem to be satisfied with the way the two companies are coming together.

Managing dir­ec­tor of Compell­ent partner Ford­way, Richard Blan­ford, said: "Things have been slightly chaotic on a day-to-day basis, but compared with some of the other mergers we have experienced in the past, the overall process has been handled better."

Both vendors have made sure partners are kept well informed about how the integration is progressing, added Blanford, and Dell has been keen to demonstrate its commitment to them.

"We have had lots of communication on the Dell side, which has been really good to see. Dell is also keen for partners to take advantage of its whole product portfolio by offering training, and we might take it up on that in future."

Partner support
Bob Skelley, global director of Dell's Certified Partner programme and channel, said bringing Compellent's partners into the Dell fold should boost their support for the deal.

"We will grandfather them into the partner programme, reclassify them as Dell Certified Storage specialists, and provide them with training opportunities to learn more about our EqualLogic and Power­Vault lines as our way of making them feel welcome," he said.

The firm is also planning to incorporate Compellent's Relationship Registration deal registration programme and product quotation tools into the channel programme - a proposal that Skelley claims has been a hit with partners.

The registration programme offers partners protection on deals for as long as they ­continue to work with that customer; product quotation is an online tool that allows VARs to design, customise and generate quotes for storage area networks.

"The merger has provided an opportunity for us to combine the best parts of two channel programmes to create something that will provide benefits to Compellent and legacy Dell partners," explained Skelley.

"We have spent a lot of time speaking to partners and, overall, the response has been enthusiastic."

Compellent's CoPilot service, which provides end users with access to 24-hour monitoring and technical support for their storage infrastructure, will also be migrating to Dell.

Fordway's Blanford said that, while deal registration and quoting tools are important, CoPilot's survival will be a relief to partners. "CoPilot is a great support organisation and, hopefully, Dell will not mess with it too much and keep it as it is because it is an excellent resource to be able to offer customers," he said.

Communicating changes
Partners have been updated on these developments in a series of conference calls attended by both Dell and Compellent executives.

Mike Beach, executive director for sales operations at Dell-Compellent, explained: "As part of that we have a 30-minute Q&A session to address any concerns partners may have."

Compellent has also vowed to continue its quarterly Field First ­webinars, whereby the vendor's channel and field sales team provide ­partners with company and product updates.

"The next one will be Compellent focused," said Beach. "But as we proceed with the integration and continue bringing the two companies together, the ones that follow will begin to incorporate more information about Dell."

So far, Beach said the merger has not led to any attrition within the Compellent channel, but accepts this could change in future. "There might be one or two that drop out and decide the new setup is not for them, but the feedback from partners to this point has been positive."

This, he claims, is because partners appreciate that closing storage deals based on Compellent should become easier with a household name such as Dell backing the brand.

Atlanta Technology's Kelson agrees, but said there is a risk that Compellent partners could lose out. "The fact that the brand will have more credibility because of the merger is a positive thing," he said. "But the concern is that enlarging the partner community so Dell VARs can sell Compellent will have an impact on sales."