It is going to be at least another year before Dell's partner moves begin to pay dividends. Also, keep a close eye on Dell's software as a service (SaaS) moves. Several small acquisitions, completed in recent months, could help Dell transform itself, The VAR Guy thinks.

..and you guys want that somebody takes your step seriously?

Mark, if I were you, I would fire myself for this! 

I hope to see Dell’s partner program continue to reveal itself!  I know many partners were feeling anxious when it did not roll out as scheduled, but now that it has appeared it seems to be developing more quickly and thoroughly.  I know a lot of solution providers and other IT professionals have been fans of Dell for a long time and have recommended its products to their own clients.  I think it will definitely be important for the program to continue to grow and change in a way that is informed by the partners it supports. 

Is this Dell's move to trash advertisment ? Will you be spamming also ?

Is this really an ethical move? 

When I was at Dell, this kind of behavior was condemned, not condoned or applauded.

I could have gotten all 1,100, and convinced the Caesar's security staff to buy Dells for the security division, for home, and for their kids in college.

 You guys must seriously lack skills to reach so few in the conference before getting the boot.
 

I'm glad to see that Dell has as much common sense as a sixth grader trying to sneak into a porno flick. It really gives me great confidence in the company that I've chosen to spend thousands of dollars with.

Creative, sneaky but not ethical at all... go offensive team! :)

distribute some baloons as well to distract those security guards too next time
 

Why are you publishing this and bragging about it?  This is an immature and unprofessional prank that Dell pulled and speaks to the caliber of the company that Dell it is continuing to make itself to be.  This is an embarrassment.

karma.. what pathetic means to get sales.. it's gonna bite Dell.. what goes around comes around. pathetic.

Same ole Dell haters posting anywhere they can find an article with Dell's name, don't you have an ihatedell forum to be maintaining with current news feeds...?

This post really rubs me the wrong way. The actual undercutting of a rival company is one thing (frowned upon, but not illegal by any stretch), but then to brag about it like this is just ridiculous. That post is comparable to a 13 year old kid bragging about painting graffiti on a 80% of a wall, but was stopped before he could get all of it, as his friends sit in silence as they don't match his enthusiasm for the subject... As a many-time Dell customer, I expect a little more maturity and professionalism in the company I've spent several thousand dollars on...

This bush league, unethical practice tells me all I need to know about doing business with Dell.

How can I possibly trust Dell as a partner?
 

The move itself seems pretty unethical...bragging about it is even worse.

 Shameless.

I can't believe people don't like Dell's tactics in this instance.  Its like they think HP is some kind of ethical company.  How soon they forget.  I say well done Dell, keep it up. 

 Very funny! I'm glad to see that Dell is finally getting serious, rather than just sitting back and waiting on people to visit their website. Good way to get your message to the people you need to reach.

I'm with one of the previous comments by Jim about past behavior. I do recall in my previous job at Dell we were required to take an online business ethics class and one of the main points was to NOT talk bad about the competition when talking with clients. In fact, I try to do the same thing in my new capacity. This behavior seems to conflict with that few and seems to be of a more "guerilla" advertising tactic. I think it will do more harm than good.

Combine that with the fact that I can still get better pricing from my Premier Page than the Partner Page, it makes me question the great value of being a "Partner".

HILARIOUS Dell! Hurd is killing you guys.

Not as unethical as every other advertiser out there. Want something to complain about? What about the "enlargement" ads running during daytime tv programming? Infact, TV commercials should be given a rating system and a v-chip to block them with. :)

You lost me as a partner years ago (Customer 4796897).  And it is exactly this behavior on top of providing crappy tech support in India that has led me to not only NOT recommend your products, but to recommend against them to our mutual customers.  You can't even keep a customer with an account manager for more than 28 days.  We had 14 different ones in one year.  Why would anyone want to continue to do business with you?

Good to see Dell taking off the gloves.

A sign of things to come as Dell targets HP partners and customers.

Great Marketing, Targeted with high ROI.

I say way to go Dell.  Dell has always been a bit brash and edgy and that is okay with me, it has served them well.  In the early days I remember seeing billboards in Houston right near the Compaq campus saying 158 miles to opportunity -- no one took them seriously at that point but they should have.  What I like about Dell is when they want something, like market segment domination, they just set their sites on it and go for it.  Watch out HP...they are coming for your partners....don't blink...

I have to wonder if this makes Dell employees proud.

What a bunch of CRY-BABIES.  So Dell went to an HP event and handed out some literature.   And?  Is there some kind of boundary that exists where Dell speaking about its own business strategies is ... what? ... wrong?  You folks act as if Dell hyjacked the official proceedings and substituted its own content for the meetings.

Would it have been any different if Dell had plastered up large advertisements all over the hotel where HP had its event?  What's the difference between what Dell did and the Dish network buying advertising on a cable channel?  No laws or rules were broken.  Business is a game.  Have some fun.  Be creative.  GET A LIFE.

 What you folks are talking about is pure censorship.  I find THAT unethical.

Well it's a dog eat dog world and I own an Asian Food Restaurant. Unforunately that is the world we live in.

We were hesitant to become a Dell partner but after this move from Dell we defiantly lost all confidence in such an unethical company.

A company with such a business model would possibly be the first company to sell all of its partners and compete against them once those partners register Dell deals and share their end users' info.

And to the person saying : "Business is a game", I think there is a difference between a clean smart business game and a dirtily childish one.

Dell is a great company with great vision. I have owned several businesses in my life and daddy always told me to locate as close to the competition as possible. The talk of this being unethical is hillarious. If Dell really wanted to make a splash they should have opened a hospitality tent at the Bellagio for the partners to come to after the boring speeches HP gave. Even better Dell should have rented PURE and sponsored huge parties the same nights the HP convention was in town. If we want to bring ethics into this, does anyone remember the Corp spying of HP, i think there are some HP employees without jobs now and even worse in prison.