Dell's Partner Advisory Council

Thu. May. 22, 2008

Welcome to Dell’s Channel Blog, a two-way dialogue for Dell channel partners to share their thoughts and a way for us to update partners on developments in the program. We hope partners find these conversations useful, and we look forward to feedback on this new communications channel.

We are launching this blog in conjunction with the first in a series of conversations we had this week with our newly formed Partner Advisory Council. The council is an example of how we are continuing to follow through on Dell’s commitment to transparency. Over the last couple of days, Dell partners visited Round Rock to share their thoughts on how Dell can continue to refine and improve PartnerDirect.

Michael Dell and Channel Partner Advisory Council

A number of themes resulted from our meeting. Communication was highlighted as a major theme, and so the launch of this blog where we can continue the conversation is timely.

Other areas discussed were partner profitability, continuing to build trust in the channel, and how Dell can continue to remove complexity for partners. We also talked about high-growth partner opportunities such as storage and Green IT.

We were delighted to host Michael at the council. Michael emphasized our commitment to the channel, noting, in his own words, “This is not an experiment. What we want to do over the next three to nine months is better understand the capabilities of our partners.”

The council was a candid discussion of our successes, areas where we can improve, and a great feedback loop.Over the next few weeks, we will continue to share with you more information from the council meeting. We invite you to let us know your thoughts.

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Only published comments... Thursday, May 22, 2008 11:16 AM
by Greg Davis, VP/ GM—Americas Channel Group

Comments  Comment RSS Feed

Nanc said:

I attended the Advisory Council, and yes in deed, I am a female.  The photo is so wide, I am lost in the crowd. 

I agree with you that in this day and age, there are not enough females in the field.

May 22, 2008 1:23 PM
Amie Paxton_Dell said:

Stakeholder,

While this was Dell’s first Partner Advisory Council, we do anticipate having future opportunities with partners to provide feedback and talk with us face-to-face. The photo is a bit deceiving, but as Nanc mentioned she did attend and is featured on the right side of the photo.

I would agree that women are lacking in the channel field and we should continue this type of conversation within the industry and blogosphere.  In addition, I would encourage women to become mentors and share the experience and wealth to others.  CRN does a nice job of featuring The Most Powerful Women in Channel on yearly basis for those interested in shadowing or starting more dialogue.

 

May 22, 2008 1:41 PM
Stakeholder said:

Wow, looking at the picture, I'm surprised. In this day and age, Dell managed to pull together an Advisory Council where not ONE PARTNER is female?

May 22, 2008 3:04 PM
The VAR Guy said:

Dear Dell,

Bold move of you to launch a channel blog. Skeptical VARs will surely take some shots at Dell on this site. But that's healthy. And The VAR Guy hopes Dell will welcome the debate and answer its critics.

Full disclosure: The VAR Guy has owned a few Dell shares over the years (he doesn't own any right now). But the channel is the key to Dell's future profit growth. As is the successful integration of Silverback, Everdream and other managed services components that Dell has acquired over the past 12 months or so.

Critics who think that Dell will take all MSP sales direct are off the mark. There are thousands -- THOUSANDS -- of small businesses that MSPs will service on their own. Sure, there will be some channel conflict between Dell and MSPs. But this space should be big enough for both parties to feast at the table.

The VAR Guy will be watching Dell's channel progress -- closely -- in the months ahead.

The VAR Guy
www.thevarguy.com
What's next in the IT channel
 

May 22, 2008 3:20 PM
Tim Hebert said:
As a participant in the inaugural Partner Advisory Council held in Round Rock, Texas earlier this week, I was impressed with the Dell Channel Team, and the commitment to building a superior channel.  Over the course of two days, we participated in high level discussions on the importance of the strength of the relationship between Dell and in its channel.   It was refreshing to learn that Dell views its channel partners as partners like most channel organizations.  Dell stressed that they view the channel as their direct customer with whom they will build a partnership based upon integrity, trust, and open (transparent) communication. I am excited to see the future of Dell’s PartnerDirect program.

 

May 23, 2008 7:30 AM
SMA said:

My first thought while absorbing the photo was --- and the year is??? 1987? I did spot one women in the back. Where are the gentlemen in 2008? Channel Channel Channel. Isn't Micheal Dell the one who was in charge the whole time Dell was completely blind to the channel. Even Sun Microsystems realized the error of their ways in 2001. What do VAR's really want? LOVE. Well level playing field, opportunities, value add from the mfgr and earned revenue should do for that accronym. Warm leads area good too.

May 23, 2008 6:28 PM

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