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Dell, Aruba Ink Reseller Deal
4:09 PM EDT Fri. Mar. 28, 2008
Starting immediately, Dell will offer Aruba's complete portfolio of wireless LAN and mobility products. Aruba's line will be targeted to healthcare; federal, state and local government; and primary, secondary and higher education -- all areas where Dell has shown strength.
"Dell is bringing tremendous muscle into education and healthcare where they are very fully entrenched," said Michael Tennefoss, head of strategic marketing for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Aruba.
Tennefoss said he foresees Dell bundling wireless gear into sales of lnotebooks and desktops, especially into schools.
"Dell has reach in areas where we don't," he said.
According to the vendors, Dell will offer customers mobility solutions for wireless network planning and implementation services. Tennefoss said more and more school districts are deploying wireless LANs to enhance classroom learning and improve the efficiency of administration. He added that school districts are starting to key in on wireless LAN infrastructure for voice and video applications in hopes of reducing costs and increasing security.
In a statement, Mark Horan, vice president for Dell's education and state and local government division said the deal will help Dell offer services to drive down the cost of wireless upgrades.
On the services side, Dell and Aruba will offer planning, design and implementation services.
Tennefoss noted that Aruba's existing base of resellers won't be competing with Dell for new accounts, because they serve different areas.
"We expect this to be a complementary relationship as opposed to a competitive one," he said. "It will supplement our existing channels. We don't expect a big impact on our existing channels."
As part of the deal, Dell will offer Aruba's 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networking gear; identity based security tools; remote access applications; and multi-vendor network management solutions.
