Updated: Dell and the MSPmentor 250
Apparently, managed service providers are developing a love-hate relationship with Dell. While some solutions providers worry about Dell’s intentions in the MSP market, other partners are pushing — aggressively — to have Dell executives included on our forthcoming MSPmentor 250 list.
Here’s some more background on the list and the current nominees.
The final list and accompanying report, due in July, will highlight 250 managed services experts from across the globe.
So far, MSPs have nominated three Dell executives for the MSPmentor 250:
- Greg Davis, VP and GM, Americas Channel Group
- Todd McKendrick, who recently made the move from Do IT Smarter to Dell
- Mike Menegay, director of Dell Business Services
Is Dell quietly stuffing the MSPmentor 250 ballot box? I don’t think so. I checked all the nominations, and they come from legitimate third-party sources.
We’re still accepting nominations for the MSPmentor 250 list, which we’ll publish in July. If you know a managed services guru, it only takes a few minutes to nominate them for this unique honor. For a look at some of the most recent nominations — now sorted alphabetically by last name — check out our MSPmentor 250 Center.
Look…if someone is an expert, then they’re an expert. The 250 list IS a list of experts. So, some of them work for Dell. I’m not exactly in love with Dell, either, but, like it or not, they’re going to be our neighbors (and competition, in many cases) for some time to come. If they qualify as experts, why not nominate them for the 250? Seems like Joe is on the ball about ensuring that the nominations are legit….
Jim Van: Thanks for the note. When it comes to Dell’s channel intentions, we give Dell the benefit of the doubt on this site and on our sister sites (TheVARguy.com). Here’s the reason: Dell’s top fiduciary responsibility is to its shareholders. In order to increase shareholder value, Dell needs to lift profits. And the best way to do that, going forward, is to engage partners.
So while other channel-related Web sites bash Dell at every opportunity, we tend to deliver balanced coverage … though we’ll certainly point out when Dell makes mistakes with its partner engagements.