COLUMN: A Tale Of Two VMwares
Summary
CRN’s Steve Burke contrasts Michael Dell’s channel leadership and nurturing of VMware as a crown jewel for Dell EMC with the shock to the system that partners have experienced in the wake of Broadcom’s $69 billion acquisition of VMware. When Dell Technologies Chairman and CEO Michael Dell spearheaded the acquisition of EMC and VMware in a $67 billion deal eight years ago, he made sure partners had the sales investment and commitment necessary to grow and scale the business. In the first fiscal year after the deal, Dell EMC invested $150 million in channel incentives. And that was driven not only by cross-selling, but also a deep level of technical integration innovation in creating new products and solutions. The amount of fear, uncertainty and doubt that has accompanied the deal is unprecedented in a technology acquisition of this size.