Dell Technologies World 2019 highlighted the power of technology partnerships for digital transformation, and focused on greater engagement with channel partners at the Global Partner Summit
Dell Technologies World 2019, organised in Las Vegas recently was a perfect showcase of key technology partnerships that are essential to drive business growth and help customers speed up the digital transformation process. The company that celebrated its 35th anniversary recently, has invested billions for enabling the digital future. “We are grateful for the trust you have placed on us. In the digital universe, we find the greatest human potential. We are working with you to build a better world,” said Michael Dell, Chairman & CEO, Dell Technologies.
Michael Dell mentioned that India is one of the important markets for Dell Technologies. Regarding SMEs, Dell said that the company has a specific strategy to invest and grow that part of the business in 18 countries, including in India. “We have a localised approach for this,” he remarked, reminding that all companies start small. He also informed that Dell Technologies Capital has invested in around 90 startups around the world, but it is not a location specific strategy.
Making a significant announcement with Michael Dell, regarding an integrated platform – VMware cloud infrastructure on Microsoft Azure, Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft said, “We are thrilled about this partnership and giving multi-cloud and hybrid cloud capability.” He said that the core agenda of any organisation is empowering employees. “Companies have to reimagine what they are doing,” added Dell.
Driving value for customers
Dell Technologies is focused on enabling customer services and driving value for customers and partners. Jeff Clarke, Vice Chairman, Products & Operations, Dell Technologies, highlighted that the company is at an advantageous position to serve its customers well. He was confident that the relations with VMware will drive high value for customers. Pat Gelsinger, Chief Executive Officer, VMware pointed out that 81 per cent people work outside traditional offices, 76 per cent work in two workplaces, while 52 per cent have three places every week. He said, “IT needs strategy that supports these devices. Modern workspaces require keeping appliances and devices up to date – a modern IT and end user experience.”
Dell Technologies Unified Workspace will make this possible, and will be powered by VMware. It is the industry’s most comprehensive solution to help IT deploy, secure, manage and support virtually all devices from the cloud. There is an increasing rise of multi-cloud investments (almost 97 per cent), and it is imperative for organisations to have a multi-cloud strategy. Gelsinger spoke about VMware Cloud on Dell EMC, the cloud Data Center-as-a-Service offering of Dell Technologies. VMware still works as an independent company. Gelsinger also clarified that VMware has an independent board, and said, “Our teams work together on R&D side, go-to-market and marketing alignment, etc.”
Tom Sweet, Chief Financial Officer, Dell Technologies stated, “Dell Technologies is the key strategic partner of many customers. We spend US$ 4.5 billion in R&D, across the Dell Technologies family. Clearly this is an industry led innovation driven by the eco system. It has been an extraordinary year. I am pleased with what we have been able to accomplish.” Speaking about the privatisation of the company, he said that it was necessary on account of strategic transformation. “Ït has been a remarkable journey,” he added. Of the US$ 91 billion revenue, half is from the US and the rest worldwide. “We are optimistic about opportunities across the globe,” mentioned Sweet.
Brian Reaves, Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Dell shared how diversity and inclusion ties-up with business strategy. “We expand and reach out to include under represented groups. We look at diversity and inclusion from holistic point of view – building and attracting future workforce; developing and retaining an empowered workforce.” Initiatives like Dell Career Restart for women who have left the workforce have been successful. Dell also has a flexible workforce policy. The company is also using AI for hiring and engaging talent. “This is a game changer,” mentioned Reaves.
Global Partner Summit
Addressing the channel partners at the Global Partner Summit 2019, Joyce Mullen, President, Global Channel, OEM & IoT, Dell Technologies said, “We are investing in your profitability. It is not just about business results but how we are using technology to also transform lives. Partnership is based on trust. Also, the significance of clear and effective communication.”
She reiterated that when there is a foundation of trust, many issues can be resolved. Strategic imperatives include making it easier for channel partners to do business.
“Last year we added US$ 11 billion to the topline of the company. We are proud of our achievement but there is much to do. This year there will be significant improvement in automation and self service. Our second imperative is about leveraging your skill set, our ecosystem and the power of Dell technologies. We know it is needed to make it easier to tap into the ecosystem – so tools like Cloud Partner Connect will enable that,” added Mullen.
There is a strong focus on creating a culture of partnership, go to market programs, simplifying the process and robust rules of engagement.
Darren Sullivan, SVP – Global Partner Strategy and Business Operations, Dell Technologies, stated, “We take these rules very seriously. Our business is the best in its line and we are focused on making it possible for you to do business with us.”
Announcing the Dell Technologies Partner Program, Cheryl Cook, Senior VP of Global Channel, Dell EMC, asked the partners to capitalise on Dell Technologies Cloud, Dell Technologies Unified Workspace and Flex on Demand. Dell Technologies announced two new solution badges – Dell Technologies Cloud Platform and Dell Technologies Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. Skill solution badges are across all technology businesses for various certifications. These will fast track the partners’ ability to deliver transformative solutions.
Speaking about the storage market growth, Scott Millard, Senior Vice President, Global Channel Specialty Sales, Dell Technologies asserted, “We are winning, we are investing and innovating. We took more than half the storage market growth last year. We need to innovate in mid range data protection and cloud, also high end data protection and HCI.”
The Global Partner Summit 2019 highlighted the end to end support for partners. The new announcements give partners the opportunity to expand their business strategy. Almost 50 per cent of revenue for Dell Technologies comes through channel partners. These new announcements enable partners to make more money as they are able to expand their line of business.
Addressing the partners at GPS 2019, Pat Gelsinger spoke about guiding customers to the top of the digital journey transformation. He also focused on the role of VMware. “We have made tremendous progress in the last 18 months,” he stated, further pointing out the developments in hybrid cloud, multi cloud environment, helping build modern app, network, security and empowering the digital workspace.
In his special address at GPS 2019, Michael Dell informed that the company has the best portfolio, but they cannot do it alone. And this is where the partners come in. “Partners play an important role. The announcements highlight the value we bring to our partners,” he said, thanking the partners for the marked growth in the first quarter of FY 2019.
As many as 44 partners, including those from India, were honoured for their astounding results, and were awarded the President’s Circle.
APJ channel focus
Informing that last year the company was riding an investment wave, Mullen said, “Very clearly we see the growth in the next 10 years will be due to digital transformation. This led to the growth last year as well. Opportunities with partners are extensive. We spend a lot of time talking about trust as nothing happens without trust.” It was the focused initiatives and greater engagement with partners that led to changing the brand, Dell Technologies Partner Program.
In APJ, the company has a mix of mature and emerging companies in the channel space. The mix of business is larger in some of countries like India. Dell Technologies has a strong focus on resellers, and sees a huge opportunity in this segment. The channel business for the company is growing fast, along with distribution, which is a critical route to market. “We are going to attract more partners who are specialised,” said Mullen.
In India, Dell Technologies is also now looking at the Tier II and Tier III markets, where a lot of growth is happening. The company is also involved in many Government projects in India, including the Smart Cities initiatives.
