Partners: New Dell Channel Program Packs A Big Profit Punch

‘The momentum we are seeing with Dell has never been stronger,’ says EchoStor Technologies CRO Mark Baxter. ‘We are seeing excellent synergy in the field across both our sales and technical teams.’

Dell Technologies’ new channel program—which went into effect Feb. 1—is set to drive significant sales and profit growth for the channel, partners told CRN.

Mark Baxter, CRO of EchoStor Technologies, No. 128 on the 2025 CRN Solution Provider 500 and Dell Technologies 2025 Regional North America Partner of the Year, said he is particularly excited about the sales and profit growth Norwood, Mass.-based EchoStor expects to see from Dell bringing back the New Business Incentive and competitive swap rebates to Titanium partners.

“In the past, those New Business Incentives have been super impactful to EchoStor’s business,” he said. “If they are reintroducing those incentives in the program, we are certainly going to be taking full advantage of them. That is certainly impactful.”

Baxter said he sees the Dell commitment to the channel only getting better year after year, fueling additional EchoStor investments into the business.

“The momentum we are seeing with Dell has never been stronger,” he said. "We are seeing excellent synergy in the field across both our sales and technical teams.”

Baxter credited Dell Technologies Vice President of North America Channel Sales Gregg Ambulos for driving the Dell channel renaissance.

“Gregg Ambulos consistently demonstrates strong leadership and partnership,” said Baxter. “He is always willing to roll up his sleeves and join calls with my team to ensure the program is aligned, on track and positioned for success.”

Baxter said Dell’s supply chain prowess in the midst of the current memory shortage and price increases is going to be a significant factor this year.

“That’s a huge advantage for Dell,” he said. “They understand supply chain better than anybody. They built their company on it. We need companies like Dell to ensure that they are going to be able to fulfill our customers’ requirements and deliver positive outcomes.”

C.R. Howdyshell, CEO of Independence, Ohio-based Advizex, No. 129 on the 2025 CRN Solution Provider 500 and a Dell Titanium partner, said he sees Dell “doubling down” on its best and brightest partners with the new channel program.

“Dell knows how to really work well with the channel to drive growth with incentives,” he said. “Dell is either No. 1 or No. 2 in profitability for their partners when you look at specific market segments. We have already made the investments in presales, technical experts and solution architects. That gives us a first- mover advantage with this new program.”

Howdyshell credited Dell with getting out of the gate fast with the new channel program, with partner business managers already working with partners in the field to drive sales growth. “Dell partner business managers are already on site at our offices and in the field working with us,” he said.

Howdyshell also said Dell Financial Services has been a big differentiator in the field helping Advizex close deals. In fact, Advizex recently closed a deal with Dell Financial Services with multiple vendors thanks to Dell Financial Services account executive Kambi Dupree Blaha, said Howdyshell.

“Dell has gotten extremely creative on packaging deals,” he said. “Kambi was basically an integrated team member with Advizex and helped us coordinate a significant win with a large customer.”

Stephen Ayoub, co-founder and executive vice chair of Chicago-based Ahead, No. 27 on the 2025 CRN Solution Provider 500 and a top-tier Dell Titanium Black partner, credited Dell Technologies founder, Chairman and CEO Michael Dell and Dell Vice Chairman and COO Jeff Clarke for continuing to make big investments in the partner program. “Their support is very important,” said Ayoub.

“Dell has a consistent track record of creating channel programs that incentivize partners to not only position the best and leading technology but also make it very competitive financially to invest in the technical and support teams to make these solutions successful for our clients,” he said.

Ahead, for its part, is looking forward to leveraging the new Dell channel program to continue to invest in “top presales and implementation talent to make sure that our customers’ investments are directly tied to business value,” said Ayoub.

“You need to invest in your people, your business and your customers to be a differentiator for Dell and your clients,” he said. “That’s what we do at Ahead.”

With memory shortages and rising prices, Ayoub also praised Dell for always doing a “really good job of managing” its supply chain, said Ayoub. “Dell is working with their top partners to ensure that customer impact is minimal,” he said. “I think partners who have a relationship outside transactional deals and really understand project-based investments will be a priority.”