Dell South Africa reaffirms its partnership commitments to Microsoft

Dell South Africa recently reaffirmed its commitment to the Microsoft global alliance by being the first Royalty OEM partner of Microsoft to invest in non-OEM business elements of Microsoft within southern Africa.

Dell also formally launched its Dell Professional Services business in support of its Microsoft Solutions offerings, and its associated Microsoft licensing capabilities.

Dell is a registered Microsoft large account reseller (LAR) and is allowed to resell licences as an LAR at Microsoft in US, Canada, European Union and European Free Trade Association Countries, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA region), including South Africa.

The announcement effectively marks Dell`s entrance into the local market as a complete value added solutions provider for Microsoft, backed by its worldwide reciprocal enterprise services agreement and commitment to service excellence.

Managing director for Dell South Africa, Stewart van Graan, explains: "This value added partnership means customers can now get all of their Microsoft licensing requirements fulfilled and administered by Dell South Africa as part of a complete solutions and service offering, from desktop to data centre."

Van Graan adds: "It takes the concept of single point accountability and strategic enterprise vendor partnering to a whole new level. Dell can now embed the Dell Effect in almost all aspects of the IT infrastructure and life cycle. Dell`s strategy is `The Scalable Enterprise` and it`s about standardising all the core elements of the IT infrastructure to deliver superior value - simplified IT."

Dell`s entrance into the licensing competency opens new opportunities for the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Program, in association with the Dell Foundation. Through the Dell Foundation and Microsoft`s Software Donation program, individuals previously underserved by technology can now gain enhanced access and training opportunities in this space.

"This alliance cements a new milestone in the long-standing global partnership between the two companies. It also signifies Dell`s continued commitment to the local software industry," says, Pfungwa Serima, managing director for Microsoft South Africa.

Dell South Africa is certified to resell Microsoft Academic Licensing, which opens up exciting new prospects for Dell within the education sector, such as current school agreements and student-and-teacher initiatives, which will benefit the community and reaffirm Dell`s commitments to address the digital divide.