In 2001, Dell and EMC signed a five-year networked storage partnership that combined the direct sales model of the former with the advanced technology of the latter.
Since then, the firms have: tallied more than 4,100 customers, including Cox Communications, Mercedes-Benz and Warburg Dillon Read; built new products for firms of all sizes; and inked a manufacturing deal. Finally, more than 2,000 Dell technicians have been trained to work on EMC systems.
Because of these successes, not to mention significant investment of time and money, Dell and EMC this morning extended the deal by two years, through December 2008.
“Working with EMC we’ve been able to broaden the market for networked storage systems and deliver better value and performance to customers,” Kevin Rollins, president and COO of Round Rock, Texas-based Dell.
The deal has made Dell the leading reseller of EMC’s Clariion product line. Clariion has become Dell’s standard offering for storage area networks (SAN) and high-end network-attached storage (NAS) installations.
Joe Tucci, EMC’s president and CEO, credits the agreement for bringing the company’s hardware and software to previously untapped markets — namely, small and mid-sized businesses. Before 2001, EMC focused on high-end systems for enterprise and government customers.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although the companies refer to the pact as a “multi-billion” dollar agreement. A Dell spokesman said other than the extension there are no other changes in the terms of the contract.
Steve Duplessie, founder of industry analyst firm Enterprise Storage Group, said the strengths of the companies complement each other.
“The extension, coming after only two years of a five-year deal, tells me that the companies and their customers are more than happy with the progress to date,” Duplessie said.