Dell Shifts Majority of Storage Sales to Partners

Dell has announced its new “partner-first strategy for storage,” which commits 99% of Dell storage sales to partners. This is a significant shift for Dell, traditionally viewed as a company focused on direct, in-house sales.
By incentivizing Dell sales representatives to work with partners on storage opportunities, Dell is clearing the road to drive more partner-led business. Partner-led sales typically come with a lower overall cost for vendors than direct sales. This move signals that Dell wants to increase the channel contribution toward storage sales amid challenging market conditions.

In the announcement, Dell said it would increase the number of accounts available to partners for storage “partner of record” status fourfold. Having such status means Dell sales representatives will engage partners on storage opportunities within those accounts. Dell will also continue to offer incentives and rebates to partners, including newly opened partner-of-record accounts, through its partner program.