Dell’s overhaul of its segmented deployment services into a united ProDeploy offering takes the same step they did in support with ProSupport, and has some attractive new elements for channel partners.
Anna Le, Executive Director Enterprise Services Global Consulting, Deployment and Support, at Dell
Dell has announced the launch of the ProDeploy Enterprise Suite, which includes three deployment offerings on a good-better-best model. What may interest the channel more is that Dell is providing them with training and certifications to do the deployments themselves, including the first competency around services Dell has offered.
“We are offering these new services and competencies around deployment services to you so that you can do the deployment yourselves around PS and SC storage and networking deployments,” said Cheryl Cook, Dell’s channel chief. “These will be available in 12 countries today.”
The ProDeploy deployment services represent a major overhaul of Dell’s capabilities here.
“This is a radical simplification of the deployment portfolio, similar to what we did in support when we turned it from many different things into ProSupport Plus,” said Anna Le, Executive Director Enterprise Services Global Consulting, Deployment and Support, at Dell.
Le said that deployment services, like support, had been highly segmented and regionalized, with different areas providing their own support.
“We focused on upgrading support first, because it was the behemoth,” she said. “We’ve gotten such strong feedback that customers have asked us to do what we did for ProSupport on the deployment side. We’ve been working on it for two and a half years.”
The three deployment services available are Basic Deployment, ProDeploy, and ProDeploy Plus, all of which are supported by a Deployment Services Training and Certification, and a Deployment Services competency through the PartnerDirect program. They range from the Basic Deployment’s onsite rack, stack, cable and label service, packing materials disposal and business hours support, to ProDeploy Plus’s full range of Pre- and Post-deployment services, additional deployment services like data migration analysis, and 24×7 support. Dell estimates that the full deployment services can save around $2000 per device — $2138 per server, $2037 in storage, and $1911 in networking.
For the channel, Dell is offering a flexible reselling and co-delivery model, with the key attraction being the availablity of a Deployment Services Competency.
“This is the first time we have delivered a competency around services,” Le said.
Partners have three options. They can simply resell, with Dell delivering the deployment. They can resell, with a Deployment Services Competency, and co-deliver deployment with Dell. Or they can offer Partner Services with a Deployment Services Competency and do the delivery themselves, possibly supplemented by Dell Services.
“This gives different options to partners with varying capabilities, from straight resellers of technology and services, to those with highly advanced services arms,” Le said. “They must have at least two engineers certified in the firm to apply for deployment services competency and be able to deliver their own services on Dell technology.
“Underpinning these services are technical training classes we have developed, and we have not had technical certification for this before,” Le added. “And for the first time now, it is Channel Ready. Channel Ready means they can sell their own services and deploy them on their own paper and their own contract.”
Recommended core courses lead to required exams for deployment of the Dell SC Series, the Dell PS Series, and Dell N&S Series networking.
“The training is highly recommended before attempting the exams, but some partners with deep experience in this have the ability to do the exam without the training,” Le said.
The new Certified Deployment Professional designation is designed to provide partners with differentiation for customers.
“We have partners who do the services today but we haven’t had the certification to provide this differentiation for their customers,” Le said. “It tells customers that the partner’s abilities are Dell-verified. They also become eligible to co-deliver ProDeploy, and gain access to Dell internal IP.” The certification is valid for two years.
“Differentiating yourself by garnering these capabilities will differentiate you as not only just being able to architect and sell but to do deployment services as well,” Cook told Dell partners.
