Lenovo U.S. Sales Chief: We Won't Circumvent VARs

"Your customers are your customers," Mungall told several hundred solution providers in a presentation at Ingram Micro's VentureTech Network conference in Atlanta. "We are not going to have people call them from a direct standpoint." Mungall oversees inside sales and partner sales for Lenovo.

His channel overtures come as Hewlett-Packard kicked off an incentive program to get VARs to switch their IBM PC customers to the HP camp. Once the deal is completed, Lenovo would become the world's third-largest PC maker.

Mungall said Lenovo must do a better job of tracking VAR-specific clients so there's no overlap between the IBM direct telesales force and solution providers. He acknowledged that if IBM's telesales reps trample into partner accounts, it could cause partner defections. IBM, too, aims to work with channel partners to offer agent commissions on employee purchase discount programs that solution providers can offer to business customers, he added.

"This is a way of surrounding your customer and extending your business," Mungall said.

IBM's PC warranty service offerings, known as ServicePacs, will be renamed Lenovo ThinkPlus Services, Mungall said. The decision on who will perform the services on those contracts will be determined by customer choice, Mungall said. "If they want to call you as the service performer, that is the way it is going to be," he said.

Solution providers won't have to sign new contracts with Lenovo, Mungall said. "We will be splitting your current IBM PC agreement and assigning it to Lenovo, so nothing needs to be done on your end. You are automatically authorized on the new Lenovo," he said.

Furthermore, Lenovo will remain part of the IBM PartnerWorld channel program. "Everything you do on behalf of Lenovo clients will still qualify you for PartnerWorld," Mungall said. "We are still going to be a big part of PartnerWorld."

Several VentureTech members said they're looking at HP's incentive programs but noted that they will remain loyal to Lenovo--as long as there's no falloff in product quality and channel service and commitment.

A key for Lenovo will be to maintain the sharp focus on the product quality and channel service and support that characterized IBM's PC business, said Angie Wong, CEO of Network Designs, a Fremont, Calif.-based VentureTech member. "If I see deterioration in quality and support, I better be ready to have an alternative, and I better have an alternative before it happens," she said.

"I will be loyal to IBM and Lenovo as long as they don't drop the ball and they are committed to the channel," said Rafael Arboleda, CEO of CompuLink Technologies, a New York-based VentureTech member.

Arboleda said that IBM has had strong back-end rebate incentives, and he's looking forward to those continuing under Lenovo. "IBM should be very careful in completing the transition to Lenovo," he said. "Should something fall through the cracks, they will lose market share. IBM has a big stake and investment in making sure this handoff is very clear and transparent to the channel."

The IBM-Lenovo deal has created a unique opportunity for channel partners as three superstar companies--IBM, Lenovo and HP--fight for solution provider business, said John Riddle, president of Information Network, an Irvine, Calif.-based VentureTech member. "That's going to mean better programs and solutions that we will drive down to the customer," he said. "This is a tremendous opportunity."

HP has a "very small window of opportunity" to grab the PC business from Lenovo, he added.