Commentary: EMC leans on Dell

By Nick Allen, Gartner Analyst

Dell Computer has broadened its storage offerings by agreeing to resell EMC's Clariion line of enterprise storage systems--but support could lag as Dell ramps up its services capabilities around the EMC model.

In an about-face, Dell has renewed a

	See news story: Dell to resell EMC storage systems

sales relationship--canceled in 1999 when EMC acquired Data General--by planning to sell co-branded storage products from EMC. Dell will sell the entire Clariion product line, including disk arrays, network-attached storage and switches, as well as Navisphere software.

EMC direct sales will no longer sell Clariion systems into the following segments: small and midsize businesses; federal, state and local governments; education; and hospitals.

EMC will stop directly selling the older 4500 and entry-level 5300 models. Dell and EMC will co-sell into Dell's largest and global customer base, and the PC maker will reference-sell EMC's Symmetrix products. Dell will service and support the co-branded products with assistance from the storage company, which will train Dell and its third-party field-service providers. The deal does not include other EMC software, but it does not preclude such sales.

Although the Clariion line includes good products, EMC needs a way to lower sales costs, especially for less expensive Clariion systems. For its part, Dell can present a broader response when faced with a bid requiring servers and storage.

Therefore, companies buying Dell servers will now have more storage choices. However, Gartner believes that, after the dust settles, companies will likely receive service and support closer to Dell's traditional model than to EMC's.

(For a related commentary on the proposed merger of Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Computer as it pertains to the storage market, see Gartner.com.)

Entire contents, Copyright © 2001 Gartner, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein represents Gartner's initial commentary and analysis and has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Positions taken are subject to change as more information becomes available and further analysis is undertaken. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof.