The 10 Biggest News Stories Of 2021

4. Dell Direct Sales In Conflict With Channel Partners

Dell Technologies partners told CRN in December that conflict between the company’s 27,000-strong direct salesforce and its channel partner community has moved beyond PCs into lucrative storage, server and hyperconverged infrastructure deals.

In September, CRN reported that the strategic shift to direct sales was being driven by North America President John Byrne, who has reportedly told Dell partner reps that taking client business direct is a “top priority.” The reported change comes after Dell – which once operated on a direct-sales model – has spent 14 years wooing the channel.

Dell also has cut the number of partner account managers in North America, reducing the ranks of veteran channel managers and slashing the on-target earnings for rep positions by as much as 30 percent. Executives at multiple solution providers, all Platinum level or higher, told CRN that Dell has replaced highly respected, veteran partner managers with less-experienced PAMs who are being compensated at lower pay levels.

Solution provider executives told CRN that they now see Dell as a competitor for PC sales and are exploring their options for working with other PC manufacturers. “This is going to create turmoil and a lot of conflict for Dell,” the CEO of a large national solution provider told CRN. “I think the ends will not justify the means, and more business will move to other OEMs like HP and Lenovo.”

Dell Technologies President of Global Sales Bill Scannell told CRN there has been no change in the company’s channel strategy and that conflicts between partners and its direct sales team are few and far between. 

All this comes as Dell partners adapt to changes brought about by Dell’s Nov. 1 spin-off of virtualization technology developer VMware, in which Dell had owned an 81 percent stake, as an independent company.