Tucci: The channel is the future of EMC

EMC chief vows to grow channel business and insists rival vendors do not threaten the storage giant

EMC's chief executive Joe Tucci has promised that the firm will boost the percentage of its business transacted through the channel.

Speaking at EMC's Global Partner Summit (GPS) as part of its EMC World event in Las Vegas, Tucci pledged allegiance to its reseller partners and said the company plans to "significantly expand" its channel business in the long term.

He claimed that at present, just over 50 per cent of the company's global business goes through resellers, but said in the long term, this figure will rise due to his company's continued focus on its channel.

In channel-only breakout sessions, EMEA-based attendees reported that EMC executives pledged to increase the region's channel business to as much as 80 per cent in the near future – up from the 74 per cent at which it stands today.

During his keynote, Tucci would not be drawn on the exact amount by which he wanted to expand the overall channel business, but said he wants to intentionally build that side of the business over a five-year period.

Recently in the UK, EMC limited its number of direct accounts to just 150 in an effort to drive more business through resellers.

Competition heating up

During his keynote address to partners, Tucci was quizzed on the competitive landscape facing EMC. When questioned if Oracle's position in the industry keeps him awake at night, Tucci assured the audience that he sleeps well.

He explained that Oracle's approach to the competitive landscape "could not be more different" from EMC's, claiming that Oracle gives partners less choice and that the way it builds its technology stack turns out "nothing like the cloud".

He added: "Oracle is a great company, their model is good for them and they are effective but I do believe that when all the changes that are happening in this industry play out, the way to build infrastructure will be horizontally [like EMC's approach], I absolutely believe that."

Tucci said EMC is different from its other competitors in that it does not expect the channel to partner with all its respective divisions; VMware, RSA and newly formed Pivotal, which is headed up by former VMware boss Paul Maritz. He claimed that rivals are keen to ensure that resellers are signed up with all their divisions, but said it is not the case with EMC.

"We are doing things very differently, and that will bring you [partners] a lot of opportunity. You're more than welcome – and encouraged to – partner with others and form your own ecosystem. That is very differentiating and is a very different message from that of our competitors," he explained.

Counting on the channel

Another key aim for EMC and its partner strategy is to continue to listen to feedback from the channel in order to drive the whole business forward, added Tucci.

He told partners: "You are incredibly important, we need you. We know we do things that aren't perfect, but we want to be as close to perfect as we can. Let us know if we do things a little wrong and when we're doing things right. We are as dedicated to your success as we are to our success."

Tucci added that EMC's core is its technology, and highlighted the firm's target to spend 10 per cent of revenue on acquiring complementary technology every year, on top of its average 12 per cent spend on research and development.

He also claimed that the firm is eyeing up potential companies to buy at the moment and that he expects that the firm's average spend of 10 per cent of revenue to be met this year.