The annual Dell Technologies World conference took place last week in Las Vegas, wrapping up on Thursday the 3rd of May. Dell had some pretty cool things to say at the event, both about its business as a whole and its partner network.
Working on it
For partners, the most important announcement was that Dell recognises that while its partner programme is good, it could be even better, and the company is working to make that happen.
ITWeb did a write-up of the event, in which they quoted Dell’s senior VP, Michael Collins, as saying the following about their current partner programme:
“Deal registration responses are not fast enough. We do it in a couple of hours, but our partners want it quicker. When it’s a large customer, and the deal is complex, it takes even longer because there’s a lot more people to engage.”
“Once you’ve got a deal registration, you want a price quickly, as well,” he said.
“Those two things have frustrated our partners. But despite those two challenges, the business grew in double digits. Partners are interested, primarily in ease of doing business and profitability.”
He concluded with “The more profitable the business is, the more forgiveness you get.”
Making it easier
Joyce Mullen, president of Dell’s global channel business, was quoted in the same article as saying that over half of Dell’s business goes through the channel. But more importantly, she also said this:
“We know that to be the best partner programme in the industry we have some work to do,” adding that the company is trying to make it easier for its partners to transact and do more business across all the Dell EMC brands. “They will then make a ton of money putting those solutions together.”
Mullen said the current programme is built on simplicity, predictability and profitability, and that Dell aims to enhance all of those going forward, to make it even better.
Impressive Event
George Moss, Dell’s CSG Business Unit Manager at Tarsus Distribution, was at the event last week. He said “Dell Technologies World 2018 was nothing short of extremely impressive, from the keynote addresses by Michael Dell himself and celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, to the expo area where Dell and their partners showcased the latest and greatest technologies in Dell’s end-to-end solutions portfolio.
“There were break-out sessions each day that covered everything Dell does as a business. Dell’s workforce transformation was a big focus point, and some of Dell’s partners around the world received awards as “trailblazers” in this regard.
“One such example is the company AeroFarms; I encourage all to go and read about them and how they’re using 95% less water, and 99% less land than conventional farming,” he said.
“Another highly-relevant topic covered was virtual reality (VR) and how this is being used to help war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Dell has had amazing success with this, and it was great to see real-world applications of VR technology that are being used to better lives,” Moss concluded.
Update: Dean Kempster weighs in
Dean Kempster, Dell Product Manager at Tarsus Distribution, was also at Dell Technologies World. He had this to say of his experience:
“The Dell Technologies Conference this year was fantastic. We saw partners and end users from all over the world meet up and discuss topics that aren’t just buzzwords anymore. I also really appreciated how Dell gave us insight into real-world solutions that are actively up and running with partners,” he said.
“The one that impressed me the most was seeing the use of virtual reality technologies assisting victims of PTSD. With VR, war scenarios are virtually reconstructed and the candidate is walked through their experience with a psychologist, who helps to frame the events which aided the candidate in processing their experience in a healthier way.
“We also saw uses where burn victims have VR functionality built into their scuba masks, which generate virtual dolphins in the tank to draw their attention away from the healing process.
“I am really excited about where Dell Technologies and the IT industry in general is headed. I believe this is the time to really get your creative VR goggles in place,” he ended off.
Find out more
If you’d like to hear more about Dell’s partner programme via Tarsus Distribution, or more about Dell in general and how the company can help enhance your own value propositions, you can reach the general manager for Dell at Tarsus Distribution, Justine Louw, on 011 531 1000 or send her an email indicating your interest.
[Source: ITWeb]
