When Two Become One

Dell's acquisition of EMC is now complete, almost a year after the $65 billion blockbuster deal was announced. As the new Dell Technologies brings the two vendors together, it must also focus on what its channel program will look like.

Any industry merger will raise questions among channel partners of the acquiring or to-be-acquired business.

"You're always concerned about change and the uncertainty that it brings," said Scott Winslow, president of Winslow Technology Partners, a partner of both Dell and EMC based in Waltham, Mass. "Will the roadmap continue to be robust? Can I continue to make reasonable profits? Will I continue to get the great support that I got?"

IT Best Of Breed talked with executives of three Dell partners – one of whom also works with EMC – about those issues. Here are five things they said partners should look out for in a pending merger.