Trade News | 04 Feb 2008 :
Dell is in the process of appointing a channel boss for Ireland as it prepares to unveil of its European indirect strategy this month. The direct vendor has already appointed Andy Dow, formerly of WestCoast and HP, as channel director for the UK. The announcement of Dell's channel strategy in Europe follows the unveiling of its Partner Direct programme in the US in December last year. The US programme will offer two options to resellers: registered and certified partners.
Dell also announced a managed services certification, the first of six planned by the vendor, including enterprise architecture. The company was keeping its cards close to its chest as Irish Computer went to press, but there are indications it might include a role for distributors, despite earlier statements from Greg Davis, vice president and general manager of Americas channel group, that it would try to "sell directly to VARs as much as possible".
Dow suggested distribution could be considered where it would bring incremental value. "You can never reach everyone all the time," he said. "We're not crossing out any opportunity at the moment." If Dell were to include an element of distribution, it would confirm the suspicions of a source at one rival vendor who told Irish Computer he had heard the direct vendor was going to a two-tier model. However, he also said he believed Ireland was not high on the list of Dell's priorities when it came to introducing a channel structure because the vendor already has a very strong presence in the local market.