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New Software Competencies Enable Dell Channel Partners to Capitalize on End-to-End Solution Offerings
MUMBAI: Dell today announced improvements to its channel partner programs, including software-specific enhancements to its PartnerDirect program through four new software competencies, as well as new service provider and referral programs.
The enhancements highlight Dell’s commitment to enabling channel partners to sell end-to-end solutions through one simple program, and increase the scope and revenue potential of their partnerships. Partners selling a mix of Dell hardware and software can now achieve Premier status through a mixed competency, while an advanced competency offers a path to Premier for partners specializing in a single line of business. The KACE, AppAssure, and SonicWALL partner communities had been transitioned earlier in the program’s lifecycle and fit well into the four software competencies introduced today.
Historically, the Dell PartnerDirect program has focused on enabling and promoting hardware sales for Dell partners. Over the past year, Dell has launched an aggressive strategy to build scalable enterprise software offerings into its solution portfolio in the areas of datacenter and cloud management, information management, mobile-workforce management, and security and data protection, with the objective of becoming a full service, end-to-end IT solutions provider. Today, Dell’s software division is one of the largest software companies in the world, with a US$1.2 billion business selling into 90 percent of Fortune 1000 companies and supported by 6,000 dedicated software employees worldwide.
Dell Software PartnerDirect Competencies
The enhanced program features customized requirements and revenue thresholds for software partners to achieve Premier and Preferred Partner status. The software competencies will allow Dell to better serve the needs of its combined channel partner community, including software- and hardware-focused partners, as well as partners selling a combination of both.
PartnerDirect competencies provide specialized learning paths for channel partners to validate and distinguish their expertise, leading to increased profitability and competitive advantage.
The new software competencies announced today are as follows:
• Security: Includes identity and access management, as well as network, endpoint and email security
• Systems Management: Includes client management, performance monitoring, Windows Server management, virtualization and cloud
• Data Protection: Includes enterprise backup/recovery, virtual protection, application protection and disaster recovery
• Information Management: Includes database management, business intelligence/analytics, applications and data integration, and big data analytics.
Dell Software partners can now take advantage of vital PartnerDirect benefits including:
• New paths to Premier status to drive even greater revenue potential, including a blended competency for partners selling Dell’s end-to-end hardware and software offerings
• Rewards for training and sales achievement through Dell Partner AdvantEdge
• Marketing and Market Development Funding for lead generation
• Concierge-level, white glove support from the Certified Partner Resource Desk
• Free or low-cost, high value online and instructor-led training
“Today’s announcement marks a fresh beginning for Dell, and is the perfect opportunity for partners to take advantage of both our hardware and software capabilities. We are very excited to bring to partners in the region a tremendous array of new benefits to expand their revenue potential and the scope of their customer relationships. It is a huge win for all of us to be part of a single program with end-to-end solution offerings and endless possibilities,” said Barrie Sheers, Vice President & General Manager, Software, Dell APJ.
The four software competencies are now available to all Dell PartnerDirect partners, providing training against the new competency requirements and learning paths. The competency training provides rich, role-based curricula allowing partners to drill down and learn more on those areas of greatest interest. The training is currently available in English. Japanese, Korean and simplified Chinese versions will be available in February 2014.
Market Opportunity
The Dell PartnerDirect software enhancements announced today empower Dell’s channel partners to take advantage of tremendous market opportunities in this growing space. Recent findings that illustrate the opportunity for partners in areas such as systems management, cloud technology, data protection and access management include:
• Gartner reports that in 2012 IT operations management software grew 5 percent and generated $18 billion in revenue[1]. Gartner also found that the enterprise distributed system backup/recovery software market was valued at $4.4 billion in 2012, and it is projected to grow to $6.8 billion by 2017, for a five-year compound annual growth rate of 9.0 percent.[2]
• Harvard Business Review found that 85 percent of businesses expect to use cloud technology moderately to extensively in the next three years.[3]
• IDC found that the identity and access management market was $4.4 billion in 2012, growing at a five-year CAGR of 9.4 percent.[4] Dell has grown 27.1 percent and is 8th largest IAM vendor.
[1] Gartner “Market Share Analysis: IT Operations, Management Software, Worldwide, 2012” by Laurie F. Wurster, Federico De Silva, Matthew Cheung, 3 May 2013
[2] Gartner “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup/Recovery Software” by Dave Russell, PushanRinnen, 5 June 2013
[3] Harvard Business Review, “How the Cloud Looks from the Top: Achieving Competitive Advantage In the Age of Cloud Computing” 2011
[4] IDC, “Worldwide Identity and Access Management 2013–2017 Forecast” Doc # 241685, June 2013
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WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
