Getting inside the Intel channel

CRN was fortunate enough to get some one-on-one time with Steve Dallman, vice president of Intel’s Sales and Marketing Group and general manager of its worldwide Reseller Channel Organisation (RCO).

In this role he is responsible for leading Intel’s worldwide channel sales efforts, including channel marketing and distribution programs.

CRN was keen to find out his assessment of the year that was, plus what is in store for the coming 12 months.

CRN: How would you summarise Intel’s performance and development over the past 12 months?

Dallman: I’m really pretty pleased what we have been able to do in the last 12 months. This year the critical thing is to keep focused on those things, so what you started finishes. One of the things partners tell us all the time is: “Don’t stop, you have something good going, keep leaning on to it and pushing on.” I think a lot of suppliers want to do something new every year.

They launch a series of new programs and your partners are not able to live with that.

One of the things we try to emphasise is stability and consistency to make sure partners know exactly where we are looking so they are able to develop and work with us.

For example we have started to improve our delivery support and performance.

We didn’t just do this for a quarter, we have done it for the last year or so. We are still trying to improve on that and added more investment.
We are giving the channel more supply chain support at the beginning of the quarter as it enables them to sell more lineally through the quarter.

I think that has really helped them to be successful so that is something which we are going to keep up.

I also think the discipline of developing a product, executing a product, training the channel and then supporting them long enough while they do it is key.

You always have to think in terms of what has to be done this year and make sure you put the right resources in place to keep it going for the next year or two.

CRN: What would you highlight as Intel’s main messages to the channel at this year’s ISS?

Dallman: Sometimes it feels like I’m telling partners to go sell everything, but there are so many partners who are in so many different businesses that you need to cover that.

Intel is a big company with a lot of capability to do a lot of things, but the messages I’m trying hard to drive down is that the desktop isn’t dead, you need to move into small form factor, and focus on small business.

That is where partners are going to be strongest and that is where their biggest advantages are in terms of being able to serve that market.

On the server side all small businesses are getting into servers now and if partners are not into servers, building servers and supporting your customers needs on servers, then they need to get into it.

It seems like the server side is going to grow at strong double digit rates for the foreseeable future.

The next message to partners is stay close to mobile and figure out what is the best way to participate in mobile.

Whether you are going to integrate and build the machines, whether you are going to buy and resell or maybe sign up with a local OEM to be a reseller for them.

The final message is: Don’t be foolish and feel because you integrate, you shouldn’t be getting into the services business.

If you are selling a server, a desktop or a mobile, also go and sell the services business.

CRN: Intel seems to have a very busy product roadmap, how do you make sure your customers are in the know and skilled-up on everything which is getting released?

Dallman: This is something we agonise over constantly. Being a big company does not mean there are not pressures to save money and discount.

A couple of years ago our CEO [Paul Otellini] said we needed to improve or reduce our spending.

One of the most expensive things that any company does is face-to-face training.
A lot of firms jump into Web training as they feel it is less costly, but we know that people like to touch and feel with face-to-face training.

We have maintained things like the Solutions Summit, where partners can come in and put their hands on the products.

We are also keeping in place the Intel channel conference. On top of that we do TSTs [Technical Solutions Training] and we do several of those in each geography.

We are still doing all of that, plus we are adding more training through the Web.

CRN: At last year’s Asia-Pacific ISS in Auckland there seemed to be a bit of disappointment from Intel towards the channel’s performance in the mobile sector. What has changed on that front?

Dallman: We have reset our expectations. We have taken a deep breath and realised that this isn’t a battle, it is more of a war. It isn’t the same sort of integration that you have on the desktop. The desktop eco-system took 20 years to develop.

The mobile eco-system isn’t going to develop in 18 months.

We are also launching new programs to assist partners in the mobile space.

CRN: What is Intel’s stance on the Green IT issue and its plans for moving forward?

Dallman: We are very committed to it. Our products now are lead-free, our packaging is halogen-free and I think we have clearly led in that area.

I like to refer to what Paul Otellini said that he wants our company to go from sand to sand. We start our products from sand with the silicon wafers and he would like our products to return to sand, just as pure as the sand we started out with.

Otellini has challenged the whole corporation to go do that.