Dell EMC’s first birthday since its blockbuster merger has come and gone, and the company is looking forward to expanding its distribution network with emerging technologies.
David Miketinac assumed the newly created position of vice president of North American distribution at the end of Q4 a year ago.
David Miketinac, Dell EMC
“My position was created during the merger of Dell and EMC because the combination meant North American distribution was big enough to have its own business,” Miketinac told CDN at the Dell EMC Canada Partner Summit in Toronto on Oct. 25. “Since then, we’ve seen fantastic growth and I believe distribution is the future of Dell EMC. It’s where our partners and end users are, it’s where they want to buy, it’s a route to market that’s accepted in the industry, and we’re now fully embracing it and seeing the results.”
Dell EMC has four Canada-based distributors – Arrow Electronics, Tech Data/Avnet (which it acquired in a September 2016 mega-deal worth $2.6 billion USD), Ingram Micro, and Synnex Corp., which has helped Canadian distribution avoid traditional challenges.
“One global challenge is that we have a large number of distributors and we’re trying to rationalize having so many distributors around the world so we don’t oversaturate the markets with Dell EMC products and services. We do not have that problem in the US and in Canada, which have four each,” Miketinac said. “Canada is a [small and medium-sized business] nation, and I think that’s where distribution really makes its mark, not to mention its large geography really lends itself to the channel and distribution as well. Canada is not over-distributed and that’s an advantage in my mind.”
Miketinac was vice president and general manager of what was the SMB division of Dell Canada in 2011, before returning to the US in 2014. While his role has expanded beyond just Canada, he admits to paying more attention than he statistically should to the great white north because of how unique the market is and how much he enjoyed his time here.
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“A lot of Americans frequently misunderstand Canada as a market; they believe that Canada is an extension of them because of its proximity and a shared language, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Its SMB-oriented, it has different laws and regulations, it’s a little more conservative in its adoption rate of new tech, and it has specific areas like Quebec that have even more differences,” he added. “On a personal note, I left Canada a different and better person than when I arrived because the country is so unique and global, and that’s why I tailor our business so much to it.”
The future of distribution
Looking ahead, the future of Dell EMC’s distribution branch looks bright, according to Miketinac.
“Our share in the distribution market is relatively small but our growth trajectories look good. We spent so long not being able to reach certain partners and customers because we weren’t in the space, but we’ve shown up now and our distribution has grown overall in the last half. Someone’s market share is shrinking because of us and we’re going to continue to take advantage of that,” he pointed out to CDN.
Dell EMC’s products and services offerings are the best it’s ever been in Miketinac’s 23 years at the company, he continued, which has helped expand distribution. And with a new Internet of Things (IoT) division at Dell Technologies and a variety of new mixed reality devices, he’s gearing up for a successful year.
“Our products right now are the best I’ve ever seen and I don’t think there’s anything ‘on the truck’ that I can’t sell. The new devices we have are still to be determined, but they’re exciting. The IoT offerings, for example, touch just about every product we sell and I think it will empower a better world. I can’t predict the future, but I’m confident our distributors and partners will have no problems,” he said.
