• Home
  • Reseller
  • Distributor
  • Vendor
  • Finance and M&A
  • People moves
  • Cloud
  • Technology and trends
  • Women in channel
  • Events
  • A-list
  • Top VARs
  • Printer Supplies
  • Women in Channel
  • CRN Essential
  • Newsletters
  • Sign in
  •  
      • Newsletters
      • Account details
      • Contact support
      • Sign out
     
     
    • Please contact your account administrator for more information on your access.

  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Register
  • CRN Essential
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
      View all events
  • Whitepapers
    • LATEST WHITEPAPERS
      What are the opportunities for the channel with the growth of AI?

      Encryption, privacy, & data protection: a balancing act

      This white paper examines the risk posed by encrypted threats; considers the business, privacy, and security implications of managing that risk; and presents constructive measures for balancing security needs with employee privacy rights. In the end, the best way for IT leadership to ensure the rights of the individual employee is to protect the organization from threats and attacks.

      Download
      How do MSPs really feel the channel will shape up by 2020?

      On borrowed time?

      Cybercrime has become a huge part of our economy and it is a topic that is getting more and more attention in the news media. The cybercriminal stories making headlines involve big companies such as British Airways and Marriott etc. However, smaller companies are just as susceptible to cyber- attacks. Often these attacks are much more damaging to smaller businesses, sometimes forcing them to shut down completely. One report from Verizon claims that 43% of email attacks target SMBs.

      Download
      Find whitepapers
      Search by title or subject area
      View all whitepapers
  • A-list
  • Top VARs
  • Printer Supplies
channelweb
channelweb
  • Home
  • Reseller
  • Distributor
  • Vendor
  • Finance and M&A
  • People moves
  • Cloud
  • Technology and trends
  • Women in channel
 
    • Newsletters
    • Account details
    • Contact support
    • Sign out
 
 
  • Please contact your account administrator for more information on your access.

  • Vendor

'You'd be mad to sell their technology in 2019': How Vendor Report's 'Big Four' are faring so far

Microsoft, Cisco, Dell and HPE have had more responses than anyone else so far in the CRN 2019 Vendor Report. We take a snapshot of how they are polling mid-way through the research

'You'd be mad to sell their technology in 2019': How Vendor Report's 'Big Four' are faring so far
  • Doug Woodburn
  • Doug Woodburn
  • @DougWoodburn
  • 09 May 2019
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
0 Comments

Microsoft, Cisco, Dell and HPE are leading the way when it comes to response counts for our 2019 CRN Vendor Report as we reach the half-way point of the research phase.

So far, the members of this quartet have each been rated by at least 60 of their partners.

You can join in by giving COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS feedback on your top vendor partners here.

In return you will receive a free Executive Summary of the report, as well as £3 Amazon vouchers.

The research invites resellers, MSPs and other frontline tech providers to rate up to five of their vendors on four core service categories, and back this up with written feedback.

Vendors are - rightly - obssessed with end-user loyalty, but this report will provide them with full and frank feedback on how they are faring within the community of channel influencers that generate the lion's share of their sales, and where they can improve.

Prevalence doesn't appear to guarantee popularity, if the scores awarded to the foursome so far across the four core service categories are anything to go by (it must be noted that these scores are extremely provisional in nature, with hundreds of you still casting your votes). In some cases, it appears that you only partner with these big names reluctantly, and that there is significant room for improvement.

Mid-way through the research we have amassed thousands of comments, a select few of which we are able to share here.

Dell/Dell EMC

Newly public Dell garnered some glowing feedback on its technology, but - so far - has a lower average score on Channel Strategy than some of its peers.

One respondent declared it a "clear visionary", while several others characterised its technology as "reliable and "reasonably priced".

However, others grumbled about poor support levels and direct-selling tactics. "Good products, awful service on their side - the support team are slow and their Premier page glitchy," said one.

"They fight against you when you try and get a deal reg… saying they were aware of the opportunity when you know they [weren't]. [They] go behind your back to get customers to go direct," chimed another.

Microsoft

Microsoft has also received a mixed response from the 80-plus partners that have rated it so far.

While one respondent said the software and cloud giant "is back from a technology point of view" and another dubbed it a "visionary", not all were fans of its technology, with one grumbling about "copycat products"  and another saying the software giant was "totally arrogant and convinced that they'll be around forever".

"There is apparently marketing monies, but we have not been able to access any", complained another, while another whinged that "leads are old and margins are tight".

All that said, Microsoft hasn't scored badly overall with respondents so far, particularly around Accreditation and Training, where it was variously branded "brilliant", "comprehensive" and "easy to navigate".

HPE

HPE has got off to a flying start in the 2019 Vendor Report, generally scoring above its peers across the four categories.

Channel Strategy and Account Management is a particularly strong area among the 60 partners that have rated HPE so far, with one respondent praising their HPE account manager for being "engaging and on our side". "Their channel strategy seems to work and margins are reliable," said another.

Not all partners are equally enamoured with the infrastructure vendor, however, with one rebuking HPE for putting "too much focus on the big boys". "Dell are going to eat their lunch," they added.

Cisco

Cisco has so far received more responses than any other vendor, but its technology and channel strategy are far from universally lauded by its partners.

Although one partner branded its technology "innovative, yet functional and consistent" and another said it was "among the market leaders", Cisco was marked down on margin opportunity, with one respondent lamenting its "appalling margins" and another labelling its channel "a bun fight for bread crumbs".

"You would be mad to start selling this vendor in 2019," they added.

Clearly, not everyone feels this way, with on respondent lauding its "great partner programme" and another saying it is "really clear and easy to earn" with Cisco.

25 vendors with the highest response rates so far:

Cisco

Microsoft

Dell

HPE

HP Inc

Lenovo

AWS

Adobe

VMware

Check Point

Citrix

Palo Alto Networks

Barracuda Networks

Avaya

ESET

IBM

Google

Juniper Networks

Fujitsu

F5 Networks

Forcepoint

Veeam

Datto

SonicWall

Sophos

Join in the study here.

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Vendor
  • Cisco
  • HPE
  • Microsoft
  • Dell EMC

More on Vendor

Apple exec bonuses will be 'modified' based on how they perform against ESG values

Executives will see their bonuses either cut or raised by up to 10 per cent depending on how they perform according to the tech titan's core values

  • Vendor
  • 06 January 2021
Partner Content: Behind Every Great Tech Vendor is a Great Channel Partner

  • Vendor
  • 04 January 2021
Google services go down across the globe

Updated: The majority of affected Google services seem to have returned, with the outage thought to have been no more than one hour

  • Vendor
  • 14 December 2020
Pure Storage EMEA channel boss: 'Resellers will need teams of developers for customer cloud transitions'

Matthieu Brignone reveals his channel predictions for next year

  • Vendor
  • 11 December 2020
'We're seeing heightened demand in the UK' - HP execs on getting PCs to customers

MD George Brasher and channel boss Neil Sawyer open up to CRN on coping with demand for devices, its new partner programme and Brexit

  • Vendor
  • 08 December 2020

More news

9 channel stalwarts reveal their 2021 predictions
  • People
9 channel stalwarts reveal their 2021 predictions

We asked a number of channel veterans to sum up what they believe this year has in store for the tech sector

  • 08 January 2021
Atos makes $10bn offer for DXC
  • Reseller
Atos makes $10bn offer for DXC

French services heavyweight reportedly eyeing up US competitor

  • 08 January 2021
Babble CEO: 'I expect us to do 10 acquisitions this year'
  • Reseller
Babble CEO: 'I expect us to do 10 acquisitions this year'

CEO of unified comms VAR opens up on hitting £100m, redesigning a new corporate office for post-COVID business and private equity interest in his space

  • 08 January 2021
Nearly a third of IT professionals want a career change, research finds
  • Research
Nearly a third of IT professionals want a career change, research finds

Employer behaviour, work-life balance and re-evaluated priorities are driving factors behind new job searches, according to Reed

  • 07 January 2021
blog comments powered by Disqus
Back to Top

Most read

Exclusive Networks reports cyber breach across systems in five countries
Exclusive Networks reports cyber breach across systems in five countries
9 channel stalwarts reveal their 2021 predictions
9 channel stalwarts reveal their 2021 predictions
Former UKFast boss charged with rape and sexual assault
Former UKFast boss charged with rape and sexual assault
Softcat says future 'difficult to predict' as market cap breaks £3bn
Softcat says future 'difficult to predict' as market cap breaks £3bn
SHI hires Hutchinson to grow UK business
SHI hires Hutchinson to grow UK business
  • Contact
  • Marketing solutions
  • About Incisive Media
  • Terms & conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading