AUSTIN, TEX. – John Byrne, the newly named worldwide channel chief for #Dell #EMC, made a splash at the recently concluded Dell EMC World by doing something no other person in his position has ever done. And, that is to lock in a vendor’s channel program for one solid year. This seemingly small move will ensure that channel partners are able to better plan for the longer term. It’s not unusual for any channel chief to make changes to a partner program – usually quarterly – because sometimes market conditions alter dramatically. Mind you not all of this bad; sometimes it works in favour of the partner. Take for example the way Cisco changed its VIP program to address the 2008 meltdown by removing certain costs out of the framework for a channel community that dealing with cash flow pressure. But channel partners want stability and predictability and Byrne, who was formerly with #AMD, did that in one fell swoop. And, strategically it made a lot of sense for Dell EMC because Byrne and the channel team have introduced a lot of new elements to the program and they are dealing with two very different partner bases with Dell and EMC. Channel partners need time to digest all these new elements so giving the channel community a full year to plan and execute without changes might be the right move at the right time. CDN sat down with Byrne to talk about this along with many other things from the new channel program in a one-on-one interview. The following is an edited transcript. CDN Now: Do you have a channel philosophy you want to instill at Dell EMC? John Byrne: Partners are an extension of the sales team. They are partners and we are vendors and ultimately we need to be working together hand-and-hand in unison for a common goal. I want to deal with people who share the same desire to do something remarkable. From people you make great products and you can make a lot of money. That is my lens. I want to be that person who makes it simple, predictable and I want them to be making money. CDN Now: Partners have asked me to ask you about the Titanium Black tier. Partners noticed you saying the word “exclusive” a few times and they feel it means the only way to attain Titanium Black is to be 100 per cent exclusive to Dell EMC. Is that the plan come Feb. 1st 2017? J.B.: No! I did say that word on stage and want to achieve it. But what I’m after is to create tier envy. People talking to you about Titanium Black feels good. This is a unique moment in time and I feel this can be part of history. When you have this opportunity with a privately-owned company with huge scale and fantastic people partners can feel the momentum so let’s have fun with it. What I want to make clear this December is the criteria for each tier (Gold, Platinum, Titanium & Titanium Black). I have to be sensitive and transparent with this program. It has to be consistent. Both programs are different in ways. To get into Dell you needed $5 million and its $100 million to get into EMC. So how do you make that work? We are modeling that now and for Titanium Black it’s not going to be open to thousands or even hundreds of people. It’s going to be a certain criteria and then a plus. And, I think you have to be first Titanium to be Titanium Black. CDN Now: How many partners do you think you’ll have in Titanium Black? J.B.: Unfair to say because we are just six weeks or so into the new company. We have to be thoughtful. It’s not going to be any number. That’s not what I want to create here. We will take a look at partners with three years with EMC and Dell. Look at their share of wallet and see what partners really want to grow with us. Those are who we are dating now, not who we will marry.
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