Dell and the Channel -- Redmond Channel Partner

Bekker's Blog by Scott Bekker, Editor in Chief

Dell and the Channel

Late Wednesday, Dell announced that CEO Kevin Rollins was out in the wake of flagging company performance and market share. Michael Dell will add the duties of CEO to his current title of chairman.

On Dell's agenda are two items affecting the channel. He wants to get Dell more involved in providing consulting services to enterprise customers -- an area where Dell has not had much presence. Meanwhile, he hinted that the company's strict adherence to the direct-sales model may no longer be a sacred cow. Asked about re-examining the direct sales model, The New York Times quoted Dell as saying, "It is an interesting question. … That's where you'll see new ideas and some experiments."

By the way, I saw Rollins on stage with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates at the Windows Vista launch just three days ago in New York. He looked as serene as ever at the time.

Posted by Scott Bekker on February 01, 2007

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