Dell Deal Registration Pilot Ready For VARs

Dell's new channel chief said Monday that the once direct-only company is expecting to launch a pilot deal registration program for VARs within thirty days, and that when it rolls out a broader channel program it would be a much different model than competitors offer.

Greg Davis, vice president of Dell channels for its Americas region, told CMP Channel that the company was also actively considering a unique online element to future program offerings for solution providers. At the same time, he acknowledged the Round Rock, Texas-based company has much work ahead of it to build its indirect business.

"The (channel partners) we have today are very vocal about how we can improve," Davis said. "They tell us, 'You need a deal registration process and program, and you need a wall so, as I register deals, I can go comfortably and know you're not going to compete with me when they've been approved."

Davis took his present post after running Dell Canada and, before working for Dell, as an executive in IBM's PC channel operations. He has been charged with delivering on the company's promise to expand its efforts at working with value-added resellers and solution providers. Even though it has billed itself as the direct company, Dell currently does $9 billion per year in sales through indirect channels and has viewed the channel in North America as one of its hottest growth areas.

In the interview, Davis suggested the company would look hard at tapping into the success it has had selling and running logistics online, and try to find a way to launch a unique web-based solution for the channel.

Since Michael Dell said in May that the company would shift its focus to work more with commercial and retail channels, many solution providers haven't held back in their skepticism that PC maker was actually sincere in engaging resellers.

"We've got a lot of process work to go through," Davis said. "We're a big company, which is why I want to test it before we do a broad-based (deal-registration program.) We want to roll out a great product to win mind share with the channel. You will not see an identical program to others', a me-too program. It would not leverage what we do best."

Davis said he has had no difficulty engaging with solution providers and bringing them into the architecture of the forthcoming channel plans. "No one has refused my call, or not returned an email," he said.

At the same time he knows that 23 years of a direct-sales heritage means there is no easy road ahead. Many in the channel would agree.

NEXT: Registration or not, partners still wary of Dell

"When you've got a company that's got a very strong direct DNA, and you're going to say, 'We need this deal registration,' what guarantees are there that a wall is going up? What guarantees are there that when a partner comes up and registers a deal that it's going to stay on (the channel) side, and not be mined by someone from direct sales?" said David Dadian, CEO of Powersolution.com, a Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.-based solution provider.

Dadian said he has seen previous entreaties by Dell to solution providers fail because cooperation with the channel side of Dell led to the direct side of trying to win over the same customers. He also said the failure of Dell to provide channel program specifics, despite its stated intentions to increase indirect sales, has led to confusion about what the vendor intends and what will really happen.

"It's almost like a Rorschach test," Dadian said. "They're throwing paint on a wall, and you think it looks like one thing, but it's really something else."

Others in the channel have seen a thaw ahead of any formal channel program.

Steve Seaforth, director of business development at Advanced Office Systems, a Cromwell, Conn.-based solution provider, said he was bullish on Dell and Davis' remarks. His company last month won a contract with the State of Connecticut to provide Dell laptops through next year. Many of the deals involve complete solutions, Seaforth said, and Dell's model of providing notebooks quickly, and with a small failure rate, has been successful.

"What they've done, they've done very well for me," Seaforth said. "I have demo units that are always available to me. I have upfront pricing, and they give me leverage. They don't necessarily do what HP does with spiff cards and (bonus) trips. I think where their strength is, is good, reliable product upfront, good delivery and good customer service."

He acknowledged it took time for the trust to develop. "As the relationship grows, you know who is who (at Dell), who the direct guys are and what their market is. They gave us, a reseller, a chance to lead with it instead of themselves."

Davis, for his part, said he did not believe Dell's announcement Monday that it would sell PCs, printers and LCDs through Staples retail outlets would compete with what Dell will do with commercial solution providers.

He also acknowledged that Dell has not said much about what role the channel would play in key recent expansions of its lineup, including the acquisition of MSP tools vendor Silverback and the rollout earlier this month of an On-Demand Desktop Streaming solution which combines PCs, servers, software and remote management -- but which Dell executives said will not be sold through the channel. Davis said his goal is to, over time, include all parts of Dell's lineup as solutions that can be delivered through channel partners.

"We are listening," Davis said. "We are on a journey. We need to explain that to our customers."