Dell's Alienware Taps Westwood As Reseller

The move gives Miami-based Alienware, which builds high-performance and gaming-oriented desktop and notebook PCs, a growing channel partner with a client list that includes military and government customers.

Like its parent company Dell, Alienware has largely sold its products directly to end users, although it maintains a federal reseller program. In announcing the pact with Westwood, Alienware said part of its growth strategy focuses on increasing its business with the federal government. The company noted that its high-performance PCs can be deployed for military and civilian government solutions such as simulations, modeling, GIS mapping and computer-assisted design.

Springfield, N.J.-based Westwood maintains a General Services Administration (GSA) schedule with the federal government, and its customers include the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce and the National Institutes of Health.

Cliff Lubin, director of military sales for Westwood, said the reseller has had a relationship with Dell for two years and that Alienware maintains a reseller program separate from Dell. Under the agreement, he said, "we'll take title to the product [from Alienware] and sell it to the customer."

Dell acquired Alienware last March to augment its lineup of high-performance desktops and notebooks. Despite the acquisition, Alienware is run as an independent unit under the Dell umbrella.