Dell Technologies & Connection: Partnering For Innovation At DTW

Kena Johnson How is a Dell and Connection partnership helped you become a leader in the market? John Harris Well, you know, when I talk to people about Connection, the first thing I say is, you know, we're a fortune 1000 global solutions provider. And when it comes to Dell, we're a top four Dell reseller. We’re one of the four national solutions providers. That means we have over 20 dedicated resources between Dell and Connection that focus on nothing but Dell and Connection. But, you know, some of the things I'm really proud of as far as Connection goes is, just last month, we were named to Forbes, the list of best midsize employers to work for and believe that that's our second year in a row. So we're doing something right. You know, I feel like that that's really a result of our supportive work environment and our inclusive culture. And, you know, we really emphasize things like teamwork, integrity and empathy. Our average employee tenure is over 12 years. So I myself am closing in on ten years. I can testify to that. And that's one of the reasons why we have the most consistent account coverage amongst our peers. Another thing I'm proud of is we were also named a Newsweek's, a most trusted company in the large account reseller space. And so the combination of those two, if you if you step back and look at that, that says that we are a most trusted company and we're a top company to work for. And that says a lot about how we prioritize our employees and our clients. And then, you know, when it comes to things like fiscal responsibility, which, you know, the way the economy is right now, that's super important. We have one of the most solid balance sheets in the industry, but more importantly, we reinvest those profits back into thought leadership areas, you know, like artificial intelligence, multi-cloud and edge. This helps us provide an even higher level of service to our clients every year. And then, you know, we're also a Dell Titanium level partner. So that means that we provide industry leading, expertly architected, cutting edge solutions. And that's the global organizations of all sizes, right? It also means that our Dell subject matter experts, I have three of them reporting to me. I used to be one myself, right along with their sales reps. You know, they've completed the same level of training as Dell's own core teams. So they're all very knowledgeable in all of Dell's products and solutions. In addition to that, we're also because of our respected place, as a Dell partner, we're also on Dell's Partner Advisory Board. I’ve actually said in a couple of those myself, given my feedback, and I was amazed to see Dell actually used my feedback out there. And then when it comes to things like services, you know, Connection services team is amazing. They can build out an entire data center literally from the concrete up. I’m talking things like, you know, power cooling racks, networking and integrating those with Dell's data center products. Kena Johnson How does the partner first strategy, particularly in the realm of storage, help transform the channel landscape? John Harris You know, like I said, I was a Dell TSC, so my experience out in the channel goes way back, you know, almost ten, ten years now. We’ve seen steady improvements year after year. And with partner first year storage, it's taken, Dell's, you know, channel strategy to a whole new level. I mean, literally to the point where my sales reps at Connection now see Dell is a most preferred vendor to partner with. Yeah, this is really different than what we normally see out on the channel, because it's based on actions and not words. Dell’s management is pushing this down into their sales reps, and those reps are listening. They're being incentivized to partner with companies like Connection on these storage opportunities. You know, I'm witnessing integration of the two companies to the point where feels like we're one organization now and where you're having a lot of recurring calls between the two account teams where we talk about customer's needs and initiatives and how best to address those.