Mark Davison at Dell’s Technology Camp, Paris – Founder Michael Dell may have succeeded in his buyout of Dell, but the de-listing of the company won’t see any deterioration in its commitment to, or strategy for, the channel it’s been nurturing for the past seven years.
In fact, says Greg Davis, vice-president and GM of Dell’s global commercial channel, partners will probably see additional effort to increase channel business and revenues.
“We don’t know when the transaction closes for the buyout, but we think the target is the end of the month,” Davis says. “We’re all excited that the process is over and that we can look forward to the next chapters in Dell.”
And these chapters, Davis adds, intimately involve the company’s partner channel.
“From a channel perspective, I said six months ago when this [the buyout] began that we have a terrific track record with the channel,” he says.
“On 5 December it will be seven years since we began slowly and methodically building a programme for our partners. We’ve expanded it with new companies [that we’ve acquired] and with new technologies, building a great business with our channel partners and we’re really excited about the future.
“I’m on record with the buyout and whether it would change anything from a channel standpoint: Absolutely not,” Davis continues. “We will continue to invest in people, resources, programmes and activities for our partners to sustain the reseller growth we’ve experienced that exceeds the market norm by two or three times.”
Davis hinted that, released from some of the restraints of a listed organisation, Dell is looking to expand the amount of business it does through the channel.
“We’ve got a relatively small share in the channel and believe that it presents a great opportunity for us,” he says. “It’s much larger than it was seven years ago, but there is still a great chance and scope to grow.
“Our strategy for the channel is in place [with programmes like PartnerDirect] and we will continue to take it forward through the capital restructuring of the company,” Davis says.