Name: Rob Tomlin:
Role: Vice president UK channel, Dell Technologies
Spirit animal: Eagle
Walk-on song: Anything by Oasis
How would you summarise Dell Technologies' channel philosophy?
Our channel partners have the power of Dell Technologies behind them. They are an extension of our team, which means their success is essential to our success: we cannot win without our partners, pure and simple.
Tell us about Dell Technologies' partner programme in 100 words or fewer
Simple, predictable, and profitable.
How many partners do you work with in the UK?
Earlier this year, we signed a fifth distributor in the UK - Westcoast - one of our most significant deals to date in the UK
While we don't disclose this figure regionally, Dell Technologies works with over 200,000 partners globally.
In the UK, we work closely with our distributors - Exertis, Tech Data, Ingram and Arrow, to recruit and develop partners. And earlier this year, we signed a fifth distributor in the UK - Westcoast - one of our most significant deals to date in the UK, who will offer our entire end-to-end portfolio of IT solutions.
Our increased breadth and reach provide resellers and their customers greater flexibility and opportunity in the new hybrid working environment and allows them to take a strategic approach to all their business requirements under the Dell Technologies umbrella.
Are you looking either to expand or reduce that? If so, what partner profile does this apply to?
We're always looking to expand our partner base - if a partner wants to sell Dell Technologies, we want to work with them. You just have to look at our record to see why - we've rapidly expanded our channel business over the last decade, and in the UK, we've nearly doubled our channel business over the last three years. That's a pretty remarkable achievement.
We're seeing existing partners transform to reflect a changing landscape and new entrants joining the marketplace - specialists in cloud, security, IoT and edge technology. At Dell, we're always ready to work with and support the new players and our existing partners.
Have you made any major changes to your partner programme recently, or are you about to?
We're dedicated to keeping our partner programme simple and flexible, and we do that by making regular adjustments and enhancements. This approach means our partners always have the right resources to serve customers, even as their needs and the marketplace change.
For example, in February, we announced enhancements designed to streamline and enhance our partner experience across our multiple programme tracks. Those changes enable our partners to focus on positioning the best solution for their customers while earning consistent, lucrative, regional incentives, regardless of the route to market. The net result is a simplified and better experience for all our partners in the UK.
In the UK, we've nearly doubled our channel business over the last three years. That's a pretty remarkable achievement.
Describe your perfect partner
I want a partner who is confident and proud of their partnership with Dell Technologies because it means they'll feel motivated and inspired to do more with us. They'll be fully invested in taking our end-to-end portfolio to market and truly understand how to maximise our partner programme benefits and incentives to grow with us. They'll work hand in glove with our sales team, sharing the benefit of their breadth, reach and technical expertise, and work as trusted advisors to our customers every day. If I had one more ask, it would be a partner who is excited, energised, and actively participates in the Dell Technologies partner community.
In which areas would you most like to see your partners invest over the next 12 months
Multi-cloud. Most customers want to work with their hyperscaler of choice, be it AWS, Azure, or Google. We want our partners to support customers on this journey to cloud; to help them understand what workloads should stay on-premises and what workloads should sit in the public or private cloud. The net result is that they support their customers in modernising their public, private and on-premises infrastructure.
How do you see vendor channel programmes and channel engagement models evolving over the next few years?
Our channel strategy is working, and our changes represent evolution rather than revolution. Our goal is to continually simplify our partner programme, making it easier for partners to manage and maximise profitability. I see this continuing for years to come.
We listen closely to our customers and partners and never try to force-fit anything. So, when it comes to traditional hardware sales, leasing, APEX, and subscription offers, it will always be all of the above.
What are your priorities for the next 12 months?
In my opinion, there are four key priorities for the UK:
1. To accelerate our channels' collaboration with sales teams and maximise opportunities in the marketplace.
2. To continue to support our joint customers with their adoption of multi-cloud technology.
3. To support our partners in helping our customers secure their data and be cyber resilient.
4. To continue to support our partners through the continued demand in the marketplace created by the post-pandemic hybrid work model and help them to find the next generation of talent
Do you feel Dell Technologies is doing enough to cater for non-resale partners, including those that sell technology as a managed service, ISVs or agents?
The value of cloud service providers to Dell Technologies is enormous. Enterprises are looking for help in managing the complexity of multi-cloud environments, and CSPs can offer ease of doing business, services scale and expertise, enhanced user experiences, rapid delivery, pure OpEx model and the reduction/elimination of corporate data centres.
As such, the Dell Technologies partner programme is structured to reward and maximise all partners' profitability when they commit and invest in the programme, including our MSP, ISV, and solution providers. We're investing heavily in our cloud service providers' go-to-market and are focused on collaborating with our managed service providers and Independent Software Vendors to drive outcome-based solutions for our joint customers.
Is direct-channel conflict ever an issue in your partner ecosystem, and if so, how do you mitigate that?
The most successful partners register early and often, and deal registration continues to grow
Having only brought our channel business to market a decade ago, we have been fortunate enough to learn from those already in the market, and that includes how we mitigate direct-channel conflict.
We take the protection of our partners' opportunities very seriously. It's paramount to ensure trust and strong partnerships, which is our ultimate priority, and a big part of that means relying on robust rules and regulations around deal registrations. The most successful partners register early and often, and deal registration continues to grow.
How do you feel Dell Technologies' margin proposition stacks up against your peers?
The Dell Technologies Partner Programme is highly lucrative; in Q1 FY23, EMEA partners earned 16 per cent more rebates Y/Y. As our programme continues to evolve, our partners will continue to enjoy greater incentives across enterprise infrastructure and client solutions.
What's the most challenging aspect of being a channel leader?
Last year I walked over 3,000 km
The biggest challenge is also the most fun part of the role; ensuring that we consistently keep things simple so that Dell and our partners are set up for success in achieving our mutual goals.
Tell us something about yourself most people don't know
Last year I walked over 3,000 km. Part of that was about wanting to get healthier, but my main goal was raising money for The Prince's Trust (the Dell Technologies and Partner community initiative raised £100k). This year I'm taking part in the Dell Space Race Challenge - a challenge for the UK Dell and Partner community to travel virtually from the Earth to the Moon, covering a mere 384,000 km (so if I join a virtual meeting walking and talking, that's why!) The main aim of the #DTSpaceRace384 is to encourage everybody to take time out from laptop fatigue and promote mental wellbeing and physical fitness. We'll also be raising valuable funds for our featured charities.
