Dell has committed $100 million to a "special discount fund" for solution providers to help celebrate the fifth anniversary of its PartnerDirect channel program, according to the company.

The funds are earmarked for North America solution providers, in Dell's fourth fiscal quarter ending Feb. 1, 2013. The program is similar to one for European partners that began in October.

Solution providers are eligible for the program if they've sold more than $100,000 in Dell Enterprise server, storage and networking products in the last five years.

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They will receive up to 5 percent of their sales of Dell Enterprise products from Dec. 5 through Feb. 1, up to a maximum amount, according to the company. Each VAR's individual discount limit is predicated on how much they've spent over the last five years in PartnerDirect, said Mary Catherine Wilson, Dell director of channel marketing North America.

"We wanted to reward and thank those in a meaningful year for all they've spent in the last five years," Wilson said.

Dell plans to detail the program to more than 500 partners attending the company's second annual Dell World conference next week in Austin, Texas. The number of partners scheduled to attend is more than double the number from last year, Wilson said.

The discount program is a way to reward partners not only for their business but also for helping to shape PartnerDirect, Wilson said.

"[It's] for the foundation that we have laid out, with respect to training and winning in the data center. We've been able to build PartnerDirect with them," she said.

PUBLISHED DEC. 5, 2012