“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller
It is hard to believe that it’s already December. It has been a truly eye-opening year of change, challenges, and triumphs. Many people adopted new ‘be everything’ roles from home: spouse, parent, teacher, caregiver and career person. As uncomfortable as change can be, it can also be a catalyst for breakthrough moments, like learning you and your team can still work together effectively, even when you’re not in the same room.
When I look back on this year, I am especially proud of the work we’ve done with our partners to help customers adapt to the ‘do from anywhere’ economy. Adaptability has become an essential business requirement for all of us, and this is where the strength of our partner ecosystem shined. We continued moving away from how we’ve traditionally done things and focused on the results our customers wanted to achieve.
One of the exhilarating things about disruption, is that it offers you freedom to do things differently, because the old ways just don’t apply. We saw this in the kinds of solutions our partners were creating for their customers. After the historic effort to shift their customers’ workforce from the office to their homes, our partners are helping customers re-engineer their infrastructure to enable a truly mobile and secure workforce, one that can move back into offices, remain at home or be a hybrid of both. Underpinning this fluid workforce is technology.
Our partners found success this year by focusing on the things they do best, carefully listening to their customers and building agile solutions powered by the depth and breadth of the Dell Technologies portfolio.
Their success is reflected in the stellar Q3 Dell Technologies Global Channel numbers:
- Orders revenue through the channel grew 34% Y/Y.
- Orders revenue through distribution grew 38% Y/Y.
- Client Solutions through the channel grew 41% Y/Y.
- Server through the channel grew 40% Y/Y.
- Storage through the channel grew 12% Y/Y.
What comes next?
We will probably never go back to the business models we knew in 2019. The partner landscape is evolving and blending; I can imagine the market moving away from traditional partner labels, like reseller or solution provider, to ‘type of solution’ providers.
I think we will continue to see consolidation within the channel as partners merge and grow, whether they’re looking to expand geographically or offer new capabilities and services. Another driver for change is the explosion of aaS offerings as partners look to build recurring revenue streams with offerings like Dell Technologies APEX.
Dell Technologies will continue to evolve our program so partners are empowered to deliver in whatever way they see fit and their opportunities are accelerated by channel-friendly consumption models.
Our channel partners are a critical part of our current and future success, period — full stop.
End of year wish
As the year draws to a close, I am thankful for the trust our partners place in us, their hard work, and their commitment to Dell Technologies and our customers. I am proud of the work we’ve done together and am excited at the opportunities in store for 2022.
My very best wishes to you and your families for a safe and peace-filled holiday season.
Rola