Dell Eases EqualLogic VAR Worries
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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.
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