I think you all know I've been at EMC a long time.
Some people say too long, but I digress ;-)
I really like when we get something right, especially when we started off really bad at it. And it's even better when it's something very, very important.
Working With The Channel
I offer as Exhibit A the following press release, announcing an award from VARBusiness that we've won their bakeoff as Company of the Year in a few categories.
It's not an isolated event. The accolades are starting to pour in.
Finally, finally, we're starting to crack the code of how EMC works with partners.
And that's a very good thing.
Talk About Starting From A Bad Position
I think it's no dark corporate secret that back a few years, we were probably the antithesis of a channel-partner-friendly company.
We sold big, complicated products (e.g. Symmetrix) that weren't exactly a great fit for most channel partners.
We were a direct sales force company. We wanted to own every relationship, and didn't have the maturity to trust all but a handful of partners, and -- even then -- did so grudgingly.
We insisted on doing all the customer support ourselves. All the professional services ourselves. And so on. I think we looked at channel partners as people who should bring us leads, stand back, and let us run the show.
I don't think it's unfair to say that we had garnered the unfortunate reputation as one of the most partner-unfriendly companies in the industry.
At one time, I thought we'd never make it out of this phase.
But we did. And in a big way.
Some Basic Truths
If you ever look at how IT products go to market, one thing that stands out is that a large and growing proportion of IT spend goes through channels of all shapes and sizes. And if any IT vendor thinks it can continue to grow and thrive without mastering how to partner with channel partners, thye've got a hard lesson coming.
Partners provide all sorts of value-add that the IT vendor can't do, or shouldn't try doing. From completing the solution to being trusted adviser, their role is important and growing.
And, just like other companies, channel partners want to be successful.
They want their own value proposition and identity. A business model that works today, and grows tomorrow. A relationship built on trust, respect and shared goals. They don't want to be anyone's shill.
Once we really internalized those basic truths, it was pretty clear what we had to do as a company.
And, one thing I like about this place, is that we get focused on a problem -- really, really focused -- we go from zero to hero in a very short amount of time.
And this was no exception.
EMC Velocity
I think you can do a feature-by-feature comparison of Velocity (EMC's primary channel program), and it stacks up pretty favorably against most other IT vendor programs. I won't bore you with the feature chart here.
But, from my perspective, there are some important values and thinking that it embodies, and that's where the meat is.
First, I think of it as a business development relationship. Not a reseller relationship. The idea is to team up so it's a win-win-win over the long term: partner wins, EMC wins, and customer wins.
Second, it assumes that partners have their own ideas about what they'd like their businesses to look like. They want help from EMC, and not a fixed-format template that is obviously suited to EMC's interests at the partners' expense.
Third, it assumes joint commitment on several levels. This is a journey, not an event. Clear communication and mutual expectation setting. Investment up front prior to rewards. We're not looking for a date, we're looking to get married.
BTW, if you are married, you probably know the meaning of the word "compromise" ;-)
But There's More ...
As EMC has transformed itself from a storage vendor to an information infrastructure vendor, we've created an enormous opportunity for those partners who want to invest with us.
With every acquisition, there's a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity that's available to our partners if they choose.
Security. Server virtualization. Enterprise content management. Model-based resource management. And, oh yes, storage, backup, replication, archiving, etc. etc. etc.
Entirely new technology areas where they can expand if they choose.
And, along with that, there are ever-more service and consulting opportuities. There's no way EMC (or anyone else) can provide the essential skills and expertise customers need to actually put this stuff to work.
And we're starting to get good at enabling our partners to skill up and get into these hot areas.
I think it's important to state what we're not.
We're not flogging servers. We're not selling operating systems or applications. We're not selling data networks. There's a lot we don't do, and we're pretty agnostic to all of it.
Our partners are free to partner with other leading vendors with what they're good at, and look at EMC as the company that works with all of them.
And The Journey Continues
My hat is off to the extended team at EMC who have invested the last few years of their career to make EMC Velocity so successful. You've done very well, so thank you.
And, of course, a hearty thank-you to our partners who have stuck with us through this journey, provided us feedback, and gave us the time to get some things right.
But, given that this is EMC, I don't think anyone is resting on their laurels ...
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