Partners Fear Sales Conflict After Dell EMC Cuts Quest From Channel Program
Submitted by Matt Brown on
(NOTE: This story was originally posted to CRN.com Nov. 16.)
Dell EMC is not including the channel in its relationship with Quest after it sold that software business, and solution providers say they're being put in a position of potentially competing with Dell EMC's direct sales teams for Quest business.
"They didn't set up a two-tier reselling relationship with Quest," said an executive at a Dell EMC solution provider that works with Quest. "They say [Dell EMC] clients will still be able to buy Quest, but what they mean is that direct teams will sell Quest. Quest is not available through [Dell EMC's channel program], and the Quest people are taking a hard line."
The result is that solution providers who were previously able to sell Quest software as part of their Dell line cards will now have to join Quest's channel program if they want to continue that relationship. Solution providers are concerned they will have to compete with Dell EMC sales reps in the field for Quest business in Dell EMC accounts.
"A customer can either buy through a solution provider as a partner of Quest, or through Dell EMC as a partner of Quest, and making that decision is tricky politically," the solution provider executive said.
Dell EMC confirmed that Quest products won't be available through the company's channel program, but will be sold by Dell EMC direct sales teams.
A Quest spokesman said in an email that Quest, which provides a wide variety of software for data management, security, back-up and recovery and other functions, would bring Dell EMC partners into Quest's Partner Circle channel program at their equivalent level and with all of their current competencies and accreditations intact.
Quest declined to comment on how it intends to manage competition between Dell EMC sales teams and Quest solution providers that also work with Dell EMC.
Some solution providers said that while the new arrangement may hurt the bottom line, they can also understand the Dell EMC's rationale.
"My guess is, come next quarter, the data protection part of EMC will be given more precedence" over Quest solutions, "and that makes sense," said a Dell EMC solution provider executive that works with Quest.
Scott Harper, vice president for data center and hybrid IT at Softchoice, a Toronto, Ontario-based solution provider, said Softchoice is the largest reseller of Quest software in Canada and the move to sever the business from Dell EMC's program seems to be in line with existing corporate strategy.
"Why wouldn't they operate as a stand-alone [entity] and develop their own channel program?" Harper said. "They're a stand-alone entity now, similar to VMware. [VMware] is stand-alone. [VMware has] its own channel, its own channel program, its own licensing. I would assume Quest would do the same."
