'A lot of ifs and buts' - Partners and analysts react to Dell announcements
Dell’s channel partners give their reactions to key announcements, including the launch of APEX, at Technologies World
Channel partners of Dell and industry analysts have been giving their thoughts on the announcements made at Technologies World last week, including the launch of its new as-a-service platform APEX.
APEX brings together all of Dell's existing as-a-service and cloud offerings under one name, with the vendor claiming it will provide "incredible opportunities" including "new recurring revenue streams".
It marks a shift in strategy for Dell, having recently sold off its stake in both software manufacturer VMWare and cloud platform Boomi, which was announced last week.
Partners were cautious about what the introduction of APEX would mean for them in the long-term but were hopeful that it could bring the increased opportunity Dell proposes.
Here's what some of Dell's partners and an analyst had to say:
Joel Berwitz, CRO, Boxxe
"I think APEX represents a really good opportunity for them but as everything moves to a consumption model, we as partners have to add value in order to drive that consumption.
"It's quite a big deal to go from selling products to another service model. That takes a period of time and there's a lot of effort that goes into it.
"If they can execute it well then I think, for us, it represents a really big opportunity to have a good outcome-based conversation with customers and drive some consumption. But there's a lot of ifs and buts as to whether they can achieve that.
"I think the incentives on the way in which you sell APEX is a big thing but then most of the opportunity for us will be around helping the customer to adopt and then consume more services.
"Driving towards what the customers' outcomes need to be means that they'll ultimately consume more Dell product, so I think our opportunity is to help the customer to drive towards whatever outcome that is that they need.
"So the incentives and rebates are good but it's more the managed services that sit around the APEX, that's going to be the opportunity for us in the long-term.
"They've got a huge focus on edge computing and how to deliver that in a consumption-based model. I think that's the right thing to do, I think customers want to buy through a consumption model.
"That, for me, will probably be one of the reasons why they've sold off VMware and Boomi and will sell off any auxiliary companies just to focus on that change because it's a fundamental shift in their business model."
Will Carver, alliances and partnerships director, SCC
"I get what they're trying to do, it makes perfect sense. What does that actually mean for us to partner? No idea. Because, for example, they didn't actually tell you where the kit was going to wind up being landed.
"Is it actually in the customers' data centre? Or is there room for other service providers like SCC to land it in our data centre and then sell it on? It sounds like there probably isn't but that would be interesting.
"Then it's the mechanics of how that transaction happens because experience suggests that this can get very complicated very fast. That's fine and we can work it through with them but we need to know more.
"If we're doing the selling, then I'd expect us to get compensated for it. So how does that work? And we don't know that yet. So I think we've got a number of questions that we need to work on.
"I think it makes a lot of sense to try and encourage customers to go down a standard route, because it makes it a lot easier to quote and that makes you much more flexible. It's definitely something which, for example, GreenLake has struggled with because it is so customisable.
"The reality is: customers, when they start specifying their own kit and they're not going on the hyper-scalers, it's like going into a car showroom and saying ‘you can have the standard one at 30 per cent cheaper but can I get a sunroof? Can I get leather seats?'
"You've got this custom list, they're completely new build and I think that's what will happen with most clients.
"But in terms of things like management, repeat billing, flexible pricing, that stuff is bread and butter for most channel partners. I don't think it would be a huge challenge to integrate it.
"And in some ways, it opens up an opportunity for a channel partner to say to a customer, ‘look, here's your software stack, here's your hardware stack, here's your support, and we'll roll that all up for a monthly charge for you and we'll manage the whole thing'."
James Baker, alliances and marketing director, Softcat
Dell are an important partner for Softcat, so it has been great to hear about all the product launches and refreshes they have in the pipeline, including the PowerEdge servers and PowerStore storage.
"In addition, Dell's new flagship as-a-service portfolio APEX launch is an interesting addition to its portfolio.
"We are delighted to see the continued alliance with VMware - who is also an important partner to Softcat - and their joint focus on driving infrastructure in public, private and edge.
"We believe Dell and VMware will push multi-cloud platform for digital transformation, and APEX helps brings together cloud and as-as-service capabilities. This will be an incredibly powerful tool and a fantastic addition to any customer's business.
"Our partnership with Dell has always been one built on trust and shared business goals. Their ongoing focus on topics such as edge as-a-service, digital workspace innovation and sustainability targets will be integral to our shared success and to how we continue to evolve and support our customers with their changing business needs."
Sid Nag, research VP, Gartner
"They're moving the company away from selling hardware and more to an as-a-services company.
"This is a natural transition that most companies are doing today in terms of getting away from selling hardware so with the advent of cloud this is to be quite expected.
"Dell has had the additional competitive pressures with HPE's GreenLake offering so APEX is Dell's response.
"Dell's obviously a big channel player, they have traditionally had a big distributor channel for all their product lines, so they obviously want to be very careful about how they position this APEX offering without offending the channel.
"The traditional IT channel at Dell is not geared towards selling services, mostly I would say hardware, but not all are. It is to be determined but everyone's going in this direction so any IT channel provider has to be aware of the fact that they are moving in this direction."