Dell EMC's new UK channel boss Tomlin on his first days in charge

Rob Tomlin says an early objective is to recruit specialist partners in AI and IoT

Dell EMC's new VP for the UK&I channel will seek new specialist partners in the new year, to complement the vendor's existing roster.

Rob Tomlin stepped into his new role a month ago, replacing Sarah Shields, who has moved to a European position.

Tomlin (pictured) told CRN that an early objective is to broaden the range of partners Dell EMC works with.

"As we move into FY20, the opportunity will be there to recruit and develop partners who are specialists in the emerging markets that we are focusing on," he said.

"We welcome all partners and we want to invest and develop our existing channel, but we also want to recruit partners in the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and analytics spaces."

Tomlin, who was previously UK MD of Tech Data's Advanced Solutions business, said the chance to join Dell EMC was too good to turn down.

"I looked at the opportunities that were there and was confident that I could make a difference in the role and take it forward," he explained.

Dell EMC currently works with distributors Exertis, Arrow, Tech Data and Ingram Micro in the UK, and Tomlin said that the vendor's distribution model is growing "well ahead" of the market, and there are no plans to make changes to it.

"Dell came really late to distribution but it now has a really good distribution business with growth rates ahead of the market right now," he said.

"There are opportunities for us to do a lot more with our distributors. We are working with them more and more and have a load of partners that are starting to buy primarily from distribution - which is brilliant."

The new UK channel boss also addressed concerns raised at the recent Canalys channel forum in Barcelona, where Dell EMC partners aired their frustration at the competition they have with the vendor's direct sales.

"I would encourage any UK partner that has a concern about a deal registration or a challenge to contact me directly and, between myself and my leadership team, we will always handle any concern like that directly," he said.

As for his long-term ambitions to take the role forward, Tomlin hinted that he is formulating some "clear plans", but that for now he is busy seeing out Q4 and getting to know his new team and partners.

"My ambition for the next year is to grow at the same rate as we have for the last 12 to 18 months," he said.

"That means continuing to grow ahead of the market, leading with our focus areas and really supporting our partners to acquire net new customers by leveraging our technology and working with our channel and sales teams.

"If I can be influential over that for the next six to nine months, then we and our partners will be in a very good place."