Mark Davison at Dell’s Enterprise Forum, Frankfurt – Looking to maintain the strong double-digit growth that its channel is experiencing in the EMEA region, Dell has announced a slew of new partner programmes and incentives.
Laurent Binetti, vice-president and GM of Dell’s EMEA channel, says the growth of the company’s channel in the region has been “accelerating tremendously”.
“We have countries in the region who did very well last year and are again growing at very, very strong double-digit rates which is spectacular,” Binetti says. “Part of this growth may be due to the migration from Windows XP and we’ll take it, but the beauty of the situation is that we are growing very fast across all partner categories – from distribution, through partners and to customers; from client through to storage.
“There are a few aspects that we measure in terms of channel enablement and one of these is the number of certified partners we have,” Binetti says. “In the past year, we have had a 23% increase in certified partners which is excellent and we have 163 Premier Partners. But we want more of these partners and in order to accelerate this growth we have to continually review our various programmes and incentives.
“Over the last 18 months we have had multiple meetings with customers and partners – roundtables to get feedback – and our objective is to further nurture the momentum that’s been created.”
Binetti says that three key areas concerning partners have emerged from this feedback and that the new programmes and incentives launched at Enterprise Forum are designed to address these.
“You want a predictable channel model,” he told delegates. “You want partner incentives, and you want increased financial support.”
He adds that these issues will now be covered by the new programmes being announced, which will include:
* End-to-end sales support – Dell’s sales force will focus on assisting partners to close business with products from its portfolio, and will offer partners expanded rebates for multiple products sold in one deal.
* Coverage models – deal registration will continue to allow partners to identify all direct opportunities with end customers. Channel partners will also benefit from leads provided by Dell. Partners will be able to identify and target specific companies with the assurance that Dell will not pro-actively pursue such leads.
* Expanded access to Dell equipment – Dell has confirmed a six-fold increase its investment in demonstration units and lab gear available to its channel partners across EMEA. Partners can benefit from special conditions using Dell Financial Services (DFS) to lease Dell demonstration equipment, enabling partners to conserve cash and pay as they demonstrate and win new business.
* Increased access to finance – Dell Financial Services (DFS) will offer a channel financing programme across EMEA to help partners grow their Dell business. The new programme complements DFS end-user financing; used together, the combination of a financed sale with financed supply will dramatically improve a channel partner’s cash flow.
* Further rebate on software sales – Dell Premier Partners in EMEA will have the opportunity to claim a 2% rebate on software sales in earned competencies. The offer will apply to sales of solutions within the four software competencies: security; information management; data protection; and systems management.