CDW, EqualLogic Divorce Appears Complete

John Edwardson, CEO of CDW has long had it in for Dell, famously smashing a Dell laptop in front of employees on his first day on the job and later mounting the debris on his office wall. Last December, Edwardson said Vernon Hills, Ill.-based CDW may not continue to sell EqualLogic products after Dell bought the storage vendor.

At the time, CDW accounted for about 25 percent of EqualLogic's sales, but apparently that relationship is over. While EqualLogic is still listed as a vendor on CDW's Web site, a click to the vendor's link returns the message "No products found to match all selected search criteria."

Meanwhile, Insight Enterprises, Tempe, Ariz., has seven EqualLogic hard drive arrays available on its Web site, ranging from $27,134 to $72,272. EqualLogic is not listed as a vendor on PC Connection's Web site. Telephone calls and e-mail inquiries to CDW, Dell, Insight and PC Connection were not returned.

One solution provider, who asked not to be named, said Dell needs to forego direct marketers and focus on SMB VARs if it plans to have success with its EqualLogic and other product lines.

"They have a bunch of people from their acquisitions who came from channel backgrounds. That will be a positive thing. That being said, it's a long, difficult battle to change the broad culture of the core Dell business," said the solutin provider. "For example, they can't handle returns; because they're build-to-order, there's no process. Some things are just flat missing. That's not the case with EqualLogic. There's potential there to build a channel around some of the products, but it's still going to be kind of a hit-and-miss thing."