Dell Eases EqualLogic VAR Worries

Dell channel executives said EqualLogic's channel program will remain intact despite Dell's acquisition of the company and have brought over EqualLogic's former head of worldwide channels to help ease partners' minds.

Greg Davis, vice president of Dell's North American channels, said that Bob Skelley, head of EqualLogic's worldwide channels, will continue at Dell as director of the vendor's Enterprise Architecture division and that Dell will add an Enterprise Architecture certification for partners. "Bob's move gives this acquisition great credibility and reaffirms trust with a number of partners who had concerns," Davis told Channel Insider.

The acquisition, finalized Jan. 28, will extend the benefits of the EqualLogic channel program to current Dell PartnerDirect partners, said Davis, and vice versa.  Partners from each vendor will be able to sell products across the two companies' portfolios, said Davis.  The Enterprise Architecture certification will allow all partners to demonstrate to their customers that they have the technical and sales skills to support a solution based on EqualLogic and Dell products, he said.

What are the channel implications of Dell's acquisitions? Read more here.

Current EqualLogic partners already have most of the technical and product skills needed for the certification and will be "grandfathered into the Enterprise Architecture Certification program" after they complete Dell product training, Davis said.  Partners will have six months to complete the training, he added.

For Dell partners, Davis said that sales and technical training for EqualLogic's portfolio will start with Dell's top 200 enterprise partners within the next few weeks.  After those partners are up to speed, the training and certification program will be opened up to all other partners, Davis said. The EqualLogic storage training programs will be offered online, and Davis said plans also are in the works to provide partners with demonstration units.