The process by which Dell and EMC members will map to tiers in the new program has been laid out, as has the way that EMC partners’ month of January will be handled until the end of the Dell fiscal year.

Last October at Dell EMC World, the newly-unified company previewed its new partner program, even as it acknowledged many of the details still needed to be determined. At that time, they announced the new, unified program will launch on February 1, 2017, a date which remains on course. They also announced some features around criteria, tiers and tracks would be announced in early December. That is what they are delivering on today.

At Dell EMC World, the company announced what the new tiering system would be. There are three core tiers, with Gold being the entry level, Platinum the middle tier, and Titanium being the top tier – sort of. They also announced at that time that there will be a separate, invitation-only tier from among the Titanium partners – Titanium Black. What Dell is announcing today is the process by which existing Dell and EMC partners will map from their old tiers to the new program tier for FY 2018.

“We are trying to be consistent and maintain the cadence of the old programs in determining where partners will map into the unified program,” said Cheryl Cook, Global Vice President, Channel Marketing, at Dell EMC. “Both company programs, at the end of the fiscal year, would do audit and compliance for partners to determine where they fit, and if they are in good standing, we will do all the match making to the new program for them.”

The tiers will map as follows:

In Either Legacy Program		Under the New Dell EMC Partner Program
If You Meet the FY16/17 Requirements for This Tier:		Your New FY18 Tier Will Be:
Dell Partner Direct	EMC Business Partner Program	New Dell EMC Partner Program
Premier+	Platinum	Titanium
Premier	Gold	Platinum
Preferred	Silver	Gold
In Either Legacy Program if Your Status Is:		Under The New Dell EMC Partner Program Your New Status Will Be:
Registered	Authorized	Authorized

 

Cook indicated that the partners selected for the top Titanium Black tier would be notified of their status this week.

One key issue for partners who previously were in both Dell and EMC programs – but not at the same level – was where they would map to in the new program.

“Partners in both programs previously, who may not have had same status in both, will map to the higher level status,” Cook said. “This will hopefully motivate them to do the things they need to stay at the higher level.”

Cook also said that Dell EMC will handle the disparity between the two companies’ old fiscal calendars by extending the fourth quarter for EMC partners. The EMC fiscal year ended with the calendar year, while the Dell fiscal year, which will be the one used going forward, ended a month later, at the end of January.

“With the new company adopting the Dell fiscal calendar, January for EMC partners becomes a bonus month – essentially a four month quarter,” Cook said. “We expect that will be well received by the partners.”

As far as hard news being announced today, that’s pretty much it. At Dell EMC World, the impression was given that distribution strategy would also be locked at the beginning of December, but that’s not quite yet ready.

“Our distribution strategy will have a more globally consistent framework, and that will be announced in the coming weeks,” Cook said.

More details on the core partner program will also be rolled out after the holidays.

“Since Dell EMC World, we have hosted joint business advisory board meetings in each region, and we are hopeful that when we bring this forward, partners will see that input,” Cook said.

Some elements, particularly those related to back end infrastructure, won’t be ready for February 1. Some won’t be ready for a long time afterwards.

“We will have a common deal registration system with a single sign-on, and a more consistent MDF approach,” Cook said. “This won’t be there be day one, but will be rolling out on a common day. The back end work for this will take some time but there will be a road map. It will be a year, maybe longer, to get to one platform instead of linking things, but that’s just the reality of bringing together a large company.”