Dell and ASCII Form Alliance

Dell, which has battled with resellers over the hearts and wallets of medium-sized and enterprise-sized customers for years, is putting the finishing touches on an agreement that will enable members of the ASCII Group to sell Dell systems to customers. Members of the ASCII Group will participate in Dell's new Solution Provider Direct program, which offers unbranded computers to system builders, according to Jerry Koutavas, vice president at ASCII.

Although details of the deal have not yet been finalized, the agreement could open the door for members of the 19-year old organization to resell branded Dell systems as well.

"There are resellers in our group that have an interest in selling Dell products," Koutavas said. "Initially, we were opposed to the idea of a relationship with Dell, but after talking with our members and our directors, we felt the positives outweighed the negatives."

"We're really at the early stage of this," he added. "We're going to let our members know that the program exists and educate them on the opportunity of working with Dell."

Dell could not be reached for comment.

The alliance opens a slew of doors for Dell and could mark a significant development for the computer maker's white box program, as well as its overall channel ambitions. ASCII currently has more than 2,000 VARs, system integrators and IT consultants allied with it. Dell's Solution Provider Direct program has made some progress since its launch last August, although Dell officials concede the company didn't have high expectations for it. Dell did, however, broaden the Solution Provider Direct program this week by adding a new mini-tower system to its line of White Box 510D desktops.

"The program is meeting our goals, which are modest. If we weren't meeting our goals, obviously, we wouldn't be adding a new product to the program," said Mark Thompson, director of SMB marketing at Dell in a recent interview. "It's too early to say if this program grows into something larger. At this point, it doesn't have much of a material impact on our business."

Whether or not it does to ASCII remains to be seen.