There has been a lot of talk about Dell and the service providers they have been snatching up (Everdream, Silverback, etc.). Most recently Dell announced they would test marketing services direct to clients but not to worry they would not market to your clients, the channel would be protected.
Guess what we found in our mailbox this morning (names and account numbers have been changed to protect the innocent):
Dear Client Name,
I am compiling some information on topics that may be of interest to my customers.
These topics include but are not limited to:
· Voice over IP (VOIP)
· Cooling of Server Areas
· Security Appliances
· Reducing Spam
· Virtualization and Server Consolidation
· Disaster Recovery and Failover
· SAN Storage – particularly ISCSI
· Converting to a Mobile workforce
If there are other topics you would like information on or if you want me to send info on any of the above topics, please email me or call me.
Company Name: Client Name
Customer Number: xxxxxxxxxx
Thank you!
A whole list of Dell people my client should contact about their services
Now on the surface you may say this poses no threat to my business and I still would argue that Dell will never get the high touch server our clients demand right. But I do believe this will cause some tough conversations with clients as Dell starts to provide my same service offerings at a low price – no idea on pricing yet but I imagine dell is thinking sheer volume for this play to make sense to their business.
So if you are not listed as the main email on your clients Dell account you may want to think about changing that or getting out ahead of Dells message to your client by talking to them first.
JC
