Winslow said that system is particularly useful to regional solution providers like his company. "They've got two tracks. One would be for large, national VARs that create a lot of revenue. The other track is for us, a regional player," Winslow said. "We don't have to have as large a spend, but we get a 1.25 percent kicker for being exclusive, and that helps us get to these levels."

Winslow agreed with Byrne's assessment that the requirements for advancing through the program's tiers are "aggressive but realistic," adding that if recent years' growth is any indication, the solution provider would have to book "a little more revenue than we did last year" to maintain its place in the Titanium tier.

"I think we can do it," Winslow said. "We have EMC products in the fold now. We grew our Dell EMC business 70 percent over last year. We need to do that again, and I think it's doable."

Partners are also enthusiastic about the program's automated rebate calculator and tracking system, which Byrne said the company spent "tens of millions" of dollars developing.

"It's going to make it a lot simpler to understand where we are, where we stand," St. Charles said. "Commission programs, or any type of incentive program, if I have to sit down with a spreadsheet to understand it, it typically doesn't impact my decision making in the short term. This is good for Dell and for us. The tool has tremendous potential no downside."

Michael Tanenhaus, CEO of Mavenspire, an Annapolis, Md.-based solution provider that works with Dell EMC, said rebate automation is a clear sign that Dell EMC is committed to moving its program forward.

"They keep evolving it, they keep pushing to get it better and better," Tanenhaus said. The automated rebate system "wires [funds] to your bank account, and you don't have to get involved. It does that well, and you can see the reporting of it well. Compared to the old systems, it's a huge upgrade, and compared to what other vendors do, it's a huge upgrade."

Steven Burke contributed to this story.