Exclusive Interview: Anil Sethi, VP and GM Channel, Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies recently launched a midrange storage solution Dell EMC PowerStore, the first product as a combined entity.  In an exclusive interview with DQ Channels, Anil Sethi, Vice President and General Manager, Channels, Dell Technologies shared deep insights on Dell EMC PowerStore and how this solution with help channel partners to capitalize on their business opportunities and to earn the customer trust. He also talked about how Dell Technologies is supporting its partners amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have now become used to working remotely with the help of collaboration tools during this lockdown. What are the other technology trends that you see coming up?

The current situation has been so intense and so sudden that there has never been any planning for it, whether it is customers or it is partners or in fact everyone.  However, now both businesses and people have started setting down with a realization that this is going to be here for some time and that's where the culture of remote working started picking up pace.

However, larger corporates didn't have major problems setting up this ecosystem. They only had logistical issues related to getting people connected to some form of video or a calling mechanism which was solved really soon. But, when talking about the center of pyramid companies, they were the ones who found themselves suddenly lost without knowing what exactly was happening. They had to change their priorities because they were not so heavily invested in IT.

As for the technology trends, in my opinion, remote working will continue for most of the businesses rather it will get ingrained as a part of their DNA. Also, On-prem storage will see an increased uptake because apart from its long term cost benefits, this IT infrastructure will provide better control and security of the data to the businesses, preparing them for any other anomaly.

Dell Technologies has recently launched Dell EMC PowerStore. How will this solution help the end customers as well as the channel partners as their business perspective?

To launch a new product, there is a lot of research that goes into it. This research is not only from the perspective of product development, which definitely is the key but also about finding the what would be the demand for the product; which markets will accept it and how will the customers will benefit from the new technology? In today’s time, we have heard everyone say, data is oil and new currency, and it's something, which is the most important thing. Simply put, data is a critical resource but it has to reside somewhere and get processed somewhere, only then this data will become meaningful. This is precisely why storage becomes the most important product for anybody setting up or is already has a business. Over a period of time, we have understood what our customers are looking for. They are demanding cost-effective solutions and at the same time, a solution that has great performance potential.

That's where Dell EMC PowerStore comes in the picture. This product is in the mid-range pricing, with all the qualities and features that any high-end storage could offer. Dell EMC PowerStore will help eliminate, tradeoffs between traditional and modern workload tradeoffs and will offer performance, scalability, efficiency.  It is a product designed especially for the next data era. Any product which has revolutionary features that can create demand and which is rightly priced would provide the best opportunity for any partner. This means that a partner will be able to generate more leads and convert those leads into sales, eventually translating into profitability and healthy proposition for themselves. In the case of Dell EMC PowerStore, our partners are clearly loving the product. We have mostly concluded our partner training programs, webinars, etc., and I am happy to share that they are super excited and they find the offering very competitive.

Do you see an opportunity in tier two and tier three cities in terms of the channel partners' expansion?

The opportunity is humongous. We are present in approximately 128 odd cities today and we continue to heavily invest in our partner program in order to bring in the coverage. In fact, our partner program is an integral part of our strategy and we are focused to cover areas beyond metros i.e. outside the top eight cities. Currently, tier 2 and 3 cities continue to show good demand for two of our portfolios – Commercial edge products like PCs and laptops and modern data center solutions like servers, etc. We have also observed demand for storage catching up in these areas with some of the government, manufacturing, and other large customers present in those territories.

Lockdown situation has boosted the make in India initiative, is there any specific vertical that you see having tremendous growth in the future?

Some of the segments, which are going to rely heavily on technology are going to be healthcare, BFSI, IT & ITes, and education. For example, due to remote working, we all are seeing how businesses have quickly geared up their work and this change is driving demand for better computing solutions like storage. In my opinion, such changes will continue to happen as the various industries get back on track.  They are and they will continue to realize that technology will be a catalyst that will help them sustain their business continuity in the future.

What will be your Go to market strategy for Dell EMC PowerStore in Indian market?

We currently have a wonderful storage GTM working for us. For instance, for Dell EMC PowerStore, our outreach will be similar to the other solutions we offer. We have the same team selling to the customers and they will be the ones educating the customers about this product as well. This product, which is a part of our mid-range, offers high-end performance at the right acquisition cost. Of course, our partners would also play an important role in reaching out to the customers, helping them address their rising IT needs, while also showcasing the prowess and cost-effectiveness of Dell EMC PowerStore in tackling any category of IT workload transition with ease.

How are you supporting your partners during this ongoing pandemic and how are you training them?

Our channel partners have always been an integral part of our business and collaborating with them to address their needs and challenges.

We understand that financing and cash flow liquidity plays an important role in any business continuity plan. Keeping that in mind, we have launched a Partner Relief Package to provide immediate financial relief to our metaled partners, while helping them build capabilities and pipeline for the future.

In addition to this, Dell Technologies Working Capital Solutions (WCS) Programme and Dell Financial Services (DFS) are working on ways to continue supporting partners and to help them support their customers. In case there are customers or partners, who want to get equipment leased, we are assisting them in that area as well.

We have also introduced a new team-based pricing option for solutions providers to make all training more affordable for our partners’ teams. Moreover, we have reworked on some of our distribution rebates to help partners make extra margins. We are currently creating ready delivery models for our HCI space, i.e. our VxRail solutions, for the first time. We will have that model available soon, where partners can have ready delivery on HCI, which has never been the case before. All in all, these are some of the things that we are doing for the partners to ensure that their customers get faster delivery and they are able to complete the transaction faster.

Do you have any different types of schemes and initiatives for them?

We have a regular partner program, which helps our partners with their margins. So, we have three important initiatives. First of all, we have a very high-end rebated program for our storage business. For example, if our partners are able to sell products such as Dell EMC PowerStore, they will be able to get a good rebate for that. The second is that we have a very high new business incentive, which we bring in. Any partner bringing in the new business from the customers is highly appreciated and valued. Additionally, we have a very different rebated structure for the out server-side of the business as well. Each of these programs have been designed to complement our partners. Such programs have been working out really well with our partners and we have also been getting good feedback about that.