EMC UK channel boss urges calm on Dell deal

Kevin Sparks insists EMC channel organisation is completely focused

EMC's UK channel boss has insisted his organisation is laser focused and is not getting distracted by the merger with Dell.

Dell announced plans to buy EMC for $67bn (£44bn) last month and the deal is expected to close next year. In the meantime, EMC will remain focused on its own business, according to Kevin Sparks (pictured), EMC's UK channel director.

He said there is no need for partners to panic.

"The way we have to look at this at the moment is that we are two different companies with largely two different portfolios. They are quite complementary for when we do come together, but for now we are not fighting in the same space, so that is a real positive," he said. "We will continue to invest in our channel and our view is we need to invest in our ecosystem."

EMC's new Business Partner Programme came into play at the start of 2015 after more than a year in the making. The scheme saw very high revenue thresholds placed on partners – to be a top-level Platinum partner, resellers must achieve revenues of $65m a year. Some partners were not happy about the changes, which came after the 10-year-old Velocity programme was ditched.

Sparks said that partners are now settled in the new programme and that the Dell announcement should not worry them.

"Obviously, post-partnership I would expect the partner programme to evolve further, but at the moment I am not sure how that would manifest itself," he said. "We have two companies coming together which are largely complementary, so partners should be viewing this as a positive."

He could not give any details on if and when EMC and Dell's partner organisations will merge, but insisted EMC is committed to its channel no matter what.

"Under no circumstances are we starting to look at how we consolidate or how we change our go-to market," he said. "My view is very much about how do we grow this market and how do we deliver what our customers want on a more predictable basis. How do we make our channel more profitable, more certain – that is where my head is at at the moment."

He said if any partners have concerns, they should go straight to him.

"The plans we are building should be very centred on what the opportunity is in front of us now – and it's a big opportunity," he said. "For many customers 2015 was a point of reflection. 2016 for me is going to be a point of change. We have to be ready to literally have an opinion, drive that change agenda with the customer and give our customers a much more joined-up experience."