January 24, 2005 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Intel Corporation today announced the 10-year anniversary of its reseller channel program, a worldwide network of distributors, resellers, dealers, local integrators and sales teams that has helped increase markets served and push sales of Intel-based solutions. Collectively, sales from this organization now account for approximately one-third of all Intel processor sales.
Intel last week announced the formation of The Channel Products Group to expand on Intel's success in global markets. By combining into one organization existing groups such as the 10-year-old Reseller Channel Organization, Intel will consolidate efforts to develop and sell Intel technology and products to meet the unique needs of local markets worldwide.
Since the inception of the company, Intel has worked with the distribution channel to supply technology products to customers globally. The early informal channel programs further evolved in 1994 as Intel strategically formed a boxed products group and invested in its first reseller customer programs: the Intel® Premier Provider and Genuine Intel® Dealers. Intel launched its first boxed Intel® Pentium® Processor for the channel in 1995 with 200 dealers in Australia and China.
Today, Intel has expanded its offerings beyond that one product to include hundreds of building blocks for the desktop, server, mobile and communication segments. These products are sold through a network of more than 1,000 distributor locations to a broad and sophisticated channel organization of 160,000 members in 112 countries around the globe, with a significant portion of sales coming from Intel's investment in emerging markets. During 2004, Intel doubled its coverage of emerging market cities to achieve a presence in 1,200 cities. The company also added 25,000 new dealers and opened offices in Peru, Lebanon, Mongolia, Costa Rica, Romania, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
"Evident by our long history and the increased focus we announced with the standalone organization for our channel programs, Intel is committed to bringing computing and communications technologies to countries around the world," said Bill Siu, vice president, Intel Channel Products Group. "We can accomplish this by helping to establish local businesses and providing training on how to build and sell computers. We also collaborate with local governments to bring PCs and technology literacy to people in order to bridge the technology gap between established and emerging markets."
Intel provides products, programs, initiatives and other marketing resources to new and existing integrators to help them develop and grow their businesses. For example, last month Intel rolled out a Small Business Solutions Campaign to help its resellers sell more effectively to small-business customers. The campaign's centerpiece is in the form of a browser-based program that resellers can use to walk customers through their IT configurations and assess potential needs. The program charts potential customers' setups on the systems, storage and networking fronts, and then comes back with specific recommendations.
Intel also helps educate consumers, governments and businesses on how they can benefit from technology. Intel has formed initiatives with governments and computer companies in several emerging markets to make PCs more affordable and to teach people how to use them. Some of the initiatives rolled out this last year include Thailand's "PCs for Thais," Egypt's "PC for Every Home," Latin America's "PC Clubs" and Russia's "Digital Week."
"The government of Thailand wanted to do something to increase PC ownership and reduce the technology gap between mature and emerging cities," said Dr. Surapong Suebwonglee, Minister of Information and Communication Technology. "The mission of the 'PCs for Thais' is to bridge the digital divide in Thailand, and with Intel's help we want to put a PC in every household that is of good quality and affordable to our citizens."
In Latin America, many companies are investing in the largest cities throughout Brazil, but Intel is taking it a step further. One such way is through the PC Club Initiative, where the goal is to train local integrators on the latest technology and how to deliver it to their customers. Dr. Carlos Koyama, an Intel Product Integrator since 1996 and owner of Data Trek Systems said, "I like the idea of the PC Club because it provides an opportunity to meet other members and exchange ideas and experiences. Another important fact is that we obtain new technology little by little at the monthly event, which is very helpful in learning the information and keeping updated."
