5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

For the week ending April 17, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their 'A' game to the channel.

The Week Ending April 17

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make headlines, some of this week’s 5 Companies That Came to Win roundup remain focused on what IT and channel companies are doing to help mitigate the pandemic’s impact.

Topping this week’s list is Cisco, which launched a $2.5 billion program to allow customers to buy urgently needed Cisco products and services with extended payment terms.

Also making the list are Intel for launching an initiative to help partners weather the economic downturn by reducing costs and maintaining their partner program tier level; Dell Technologies for taking over the No. 1 PC market share spot in the U.S. in the first quarter; Lenovo for listening to partners and reversing a decision to eliminate a partner sales rebate; and the Khan brothers, who founded Viptela, for the gutsy move to proceed with the launch of their multi-cloud networking startup.

Cisco Capital Unveils $2.5 Billion Program In Midst Of Coronavirus Crisis

Cisco Systems wins kudos this week for its new Business Resiliency Program that provides a way for customers to purchase urgently needed IT without taking an immediate hit to their cash flow.

The program, being offered by Cisco Capital, extends $2.5 billion in financing to help businesses invest in the IT solutions they need to keep their businesses running and productive during these unprecedented financial times.

Under the terms of the program, customers will have 90 days from the time the order is placed to start making payments for Cisco systems and solutions. After that customers only have to pay 1 percent of the total contract value of a new product or solution until 2021. From January 2021 on, customers can make monthly payments based on the total financed amount and the remaining term of the contract, including 36-, 48- and 50-month contracts.

The program covers all Cisco hardware, software and services and up to 5 percent of partner-provided services, such as installation and configuration. Partners, meanwhile, will still be paid according to the typical schedule regardless of whether their customer is taking advantage of the Business Resiliency Program.

Intel Unleashes Comprehensive Coronavirus Relief Plan For Partners

Intel launched a series of measures and initiatives this week to help its large network of channel partners weather the economic downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The relief package is designed to help partners lower their operating costs, navigate supply chain issues and maintain their partner tier levels within the Intel Technology Provider program, which is being retooled into the Intel Partner Alliance later this year.

Intel, for example, is expanding from 12 months to 18 months the period for measuring a partner’s sales activity used to determine a partner’s tier level in the new partner program. That can help partners maintain the status and benefits they have held in recent years.

Partners can also use points in the Intel Technology Provider program that expired in March for an additional 90 days. And partners get a 10 percent discount on product vouchers redeemed with points through the end of June.

The effort is targeted at the value-added resellers, systems integrators and managed service providers who sell and support Intel’s broad portfolio of products.

Dell Becomes No. 1 In U.S. PC Shipments In Q1

Dell Technologies surpassed previous front-runner HP Inc. in U.S. PC shipments in the first quarter of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic created a surge in demand for work-from-home devices while also disrupting production in China.

Dell increased its PC shipments during the quarter to 3,458,000 units, up 10 percent from 2019 first-quarter unit shipments, according to market research firm Gartner. That gave the company a 31.4 percent share of the U.S. PC market, up from 28.8 percent one year earlier.

HP, which has traditionally been the U.S. PC market-share leader, saw its unit shipments decline 13.9 percent in the quarter to 2,735,000 units. That dropped its U.S. market share to 24.8 percent, down from 29.1 percent one year before, according to Gartner. HP CEO Enrique Lores has told CRN that his company has been supply constrained but expects to be at full capacity in the current quarter.

Lenovo also made impressive gains in the U.S. market in the first quarter, increasing its PC unit shipments by 28.8 percent to 1,923,000, putting the company in third place with a 17.5 percent market share in the first quarter.

Partners Cheer Lenovo Move To Reinstate Chromebook Spiff

Lenovo is winning applause for the company’s decision to reinstate a partner sales incentive rebate on Chromebooks, reversing an earlier decision to eliminate the spiff as of April 1.

The company heard concerns about the original decision from numerous partners, particularly those with businesses selling Chromebooks into the education market where the devices have been in huge demand with school districts moving to distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After taking the partner feedback to heart, Lenovo is quickly changing course and retroactively reimplementing the sales incentive rebate, Rob Cato, vice president of North America channels in Lenovo’s Intelligent Devices Group, told CRN. The company began informing partners about the change Tuesday.

Former Viptela Founding Brothers Launch Cloud Networking Startup Alkira

These are tough times for established businesses. So you’ve got to admire multi-cloud networking startup Alkira, which emerged from stealth mode this week with its consumption-based cloud connection offering that can be up and running in minutes.

San Jose, Calif.-based Alkira was founded by CEO Amir Khan and his brother Atif Khan, the startup’s CTO. The tech luminaries previously co-founded SD-WAN provider Viptela, which was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2017 for $610 million.

Alkira is bursting onto the scene with Cloud Services Exchange, a unified, on-demand offering that lets cloud architects and network engineers build and deploy a multi-cloud network in minutes. The company has already raised $30 million in Series A funding.