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Avtex had been working with Dell on professional services, and did a lot of business with Dell's server line while selling some Dell storage, Dusek said. "We've been able to do some professional services with Dell on their hardware, and now we're looking to do more," he said.
Dusek also said there is always some anxiety when a small company gets acquired by a larger one, but that things seem to be going well at Compellent so far.
"When a big company comes in, it can make things better or worse with the stroke of a pen," he said. "But the Compellent people tell us things are going well."
Paul Clifford, principle at the Davenport Group, a St. Paul-based solution provider and long-term Compellent partner, said he was just meeting with his regional Dell team Monday night trying to help them understand what Compellent will bring to them and what they can expect when working with his company.
"Dell's commitment to the channel is clearly there, both from the Dell and the Compellent sides," Clifford said. "And Dell clearly shows interest in keeping Copilot going and keeping it based in Minnesota."
The Davenport Group signed up with Dell to sell its EqualLogic storage line shortly before that company announced its plans to acquire Compellent, Clifford said.
"We have a pretty good relationship with Dell, and are hoping to expand it," he said. "I've been telling the Dell team, 'We're your friends. We're not going to compete with you. We'll sell EqualLogic and Compellent."
Not every Compellent partner is as excited about its long-term prospects with Dell.
One solution provider, who requested anonymity due to sensitive customer relationships, said that, while Compellent is great with support, delivery, and expertise when solution providers win new deals, but that it has not been very supportive about helping smaller partners keep their deals.
"For us, I can't imagine it will get worse," the solution provider said. "We're not a big reseller for them. I can understand that they only pay attention to the squeaky wheels. I understand the business reasons. I'm not saying, 'It's not fair.'"
The solution provider said that Dell could help level the playing field with partners. "Maybe its partner group will not be such an exclusive club," the solution provider said. "Hopefully they'll also bring in more polished messaging and better sales training for partners. But my gut feeling is, this probably will not turn out well for me."
Dell was unable to comment further on the news.
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