Will Dell Push Storage Thru Partners?
Bob Skelley, VP of channel development at EqualLogic, woke up to a big challenge today. His company, EqualLogic, just got acquired by Dell for $1.4 billion. Now the real fun starts for Skelley, who must assure partners that EqualLogic won’t walk away from them.
As the former director of U.S. distribution and VAR channels for Microsoft, Skelley knows how to keep partners happy. But can he repeat that success while working in Michael Dell’s direct sales empire?
The VAR Guy is generally upbeat about Dell’s business going forward. But a lot of skeptics across the channel continue to bash Dell’s direct sales heritage. And plenty of people went into panic mode when Dell earlier this year acquired Silverback Technologies, a managed service platform provider that works closely with VARs.
If Dell wants to win over its channel critics — once and for all — Michael should personally host a Webcast that reaches out to Silverback and EqualLogic partners. The VAR Guy would be happy to host the discussion (for a nominal fee, of course).
In the meantime, Dell is saying all the right things about the company’s commitment to EqualLogic partners. The folks at ChannelWeb have a quick news piece that includes thoughts from Michael.
