EMC boss: 100 per cent channel? Over my dead body

Storage giant defends its strong direct sales force

EMC has jumped to the defence of its direct sales force as it completely ruled out ever becoming a channel-only company in the future.

During a partner Q&A session at its Global Partner Summit, part of its EMC World event in Las Vegas this week, EMC's top directors insisted the channel played an increasingly important role in the organisation but said it could never ditch its direct team.

Joe Tucci (pictured), chief executive of EMC's federation, made his feelings on the matter clear after MTI's chief executive Keith Clark quizzed him on the matter.

"As long as I am living and breathing, we will never be 100 per cent channel," he said. "But I guarantee that as long as I am living and breathing, we will become more and more dependent on the channel.

"A focused, direct sales force which is trained to understand your success, I think, is a real plus. A strong sales force cares about your success."

The issue was raised after a long-term EMC reseller pointed out the vendor's steadily increasing channel commitment over the past decade. About 11 years ago, less than a third of the firm's business went through partners globally, a figure which is higher than 80 per cent today.

EMC Information Infrastructure's chief executive David Goulden told the partner – who asked if EMC would ever become a channel-only firm – that investing in a direct sales team is not an act of war on resellers.

"You want us to have a strong direct sales force as well, right?" he said. "Because we need to be out there driving opportunities, opening doors and promoting our technology.

"We just need to know when to partner together and when you take a lead role. One of our strong assets in this company is the direct sales force and we need to continue to invest in that."