New Dell MD pushes NZ 'channel-first' strategy
Dell was keen to push it's 'channel-first' strategy at this week's Dell Enterprise Forum, and the appointment of Pete Murphy as New Zealand managing director could herald a boost for the local channel.
Murphy has been Dell's general manager for the ANZ global commercial channel for more than a year and was recently appointed managing director of the local operations as well. He touched down in Auckland today, and will now manage the ANZ channel from New Zealand.
Murphy says he hopes his presence in New Zealand will provide a higher profile for the vendor here and says he has ambitious plans for the company locally.
“As with any new role what you need to do is take stock of the current business. But New Zealand is a growing market for us.
“Our brand resonates quite well. So from that point of view, Dell's strategy is to really drive the data center discussion, make sure that our technologies are pervasive across all market segments, so we will be looking for healthy double-digit growth across all segments.”
He says the company is 'pretty strong' across all verticals. “Certainly, we feature very strongly in the business to business segment and clearly government, education and healthcare make up a significant portion of IT spending. But there's a huge amount of small to medium business in New Zealand so I think we just have to have the right go-to-market strategy for each of those.”
Murphy says partners – who deliver one-third of the vendors revenue globally – 'are going to play a very big part' in driving the company forward.
“They are, absolutely, critical to our success.”
He says the company has made significant investments in its channel, including 'an enormous amount' in training.
“If I look at the partners who really invest in training and the results driven by those partners, they are multiples of those who don't,” he adds.
He acknowledges that with 19 acquisitions in the past few years, and significant change within Dell as it transitions from selling devices to selling solutions, it can be hard for resellers to be across the company's product portfolio and says his team will be working to enable resellers with the right training, resources and marketing material.
Murphy says Dell also hasn't ruled out appointing a local distributor. The company currently uses its Partner Direct programme in New Zealand, though Altech handles some of its portfolio and Connector Systems handles Dell Software.
“I wouldn't rule [appointing a distributor] out.
“We are all about customer outcomes and I've certainly got ambitious business plans for our business in New Zealand. And we certainly have a large appetite for growth, so I think as I start to get my head around the business, I certainly wouldn't rule anything out. But I think we need to make sure whatever we do is flexible enough for our partners and customers to make sure we give access to all of our portfolio.
“We will evaluate all our options.”
