Mark Davison at Dell’s Enterprise Forum, Frankfurt – It may have taken Dell nearly 23 years to cotton on to the value of the channel as it persisted with a direct business model, but there is no doubt that today it is an integral part of its business.
Aongus Hegarty, president and GM EMEA at Dell, says the company – which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year – has undergone major transformation over the decades.
“In the last few years alone, there has been significant transformation from a technology enablement strategy that was clearly just hardware, to a company that now offers computer solutions, software and services – a company that is able to provide end-to-end technology solutions for its customers.”
And while Hegarty may be proud of what Dell has achieved through this transformation, he is equally proud of the channel strategy and programme he has been closely associated with since its inception seven years ago.
“I’ve been at Dell for 15 years and I’ve been involved in the PartnerDirect programme for the seven years that it’s been in place,” he says.
“I’ve seen it build and I think it’s been the most significant catalyst to the growth of our business over the last few years. I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made and the channel in Western Europe now accounts for one-third of our business. In the next year or two, I see this increasing to 40% and I have no doubt that we’ll reach 50% soon after that.
“And I can assure you,” Hegarty told assembled partners, “that as a leader in this business, we are committed to continuing on that path of development and growth. There will be investment and plans going forward because the channel is an extremely important catalyst in the growth of our business.
“One of the most significant investments we’ve made over the past six months has been in Dell Financial Services whereby, with partners, we’re able to finance technology solutions end-to-end,” Hegarty says. “This enables our customers and your customers to consume product over time, but have the solutions today.
“There has been significant interest in Financial Services from many of our partners and we will unlock more opportunity in the future,” he says.