Other than that, Davis and Skelley said not much will change for either EqualLogic or Dell PartnerDirect partners.  "Partners should see very little change in the channel partner program structure," Davis said.  Davis added that he understands that EqualLogic partners are worried they will lose benefits, be ineligible for deal registration minimums or lose registered opportunities to Dell's direct sales force.   

"We think they'll find the opposite is true—we've kept all the elements of their program in place; we've just expanded the line of products that they can sell," Davis said.  

"Some partners raised concerns about customer data protection and said they worried about placing that data into our [deal registration] tool," Skelley said. He added that partners can be assured that EqualLogic's deal registration will operate as it always has to protect their opportunities and that those opportunities will reside in a sealed data repository.  "We want to recommit to the channel that their data is protected," Skelley said.

Davis said he and Skelley along with Chris Bates, director of Dell's Solution Provider Direct program, will be making personal phone calls to all EqualLogic partners this week to inform them about the program, and that events such partner advisory councils, town halls and roundtables will be held throughout the year. 

Dell will hold a partner town hall meeting Feb. 5 to encourage EqualLogic and Dell partners to ask questions about the acquisition and voice their opinions and thoughts about the integrated channel program, Davis said.