Kovarus Joins Dell's PartnerDirect Program And Becomes Official Certified Dell Partner

ROUND ROCK, Texas and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - April 15, 2008—Kovarus, a leading systems integrator specializing in virtualization, enterprise storage and data center networking solutions, today announced it has joined Dell’s PartnerDirect program as a Certified Dell Partner. Built on three main tenets of simplifying IT, less complexity, and the advantages offered by the Dell business model, PartnerDirect will create a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship between Dell and Kovarus.

As a Certified Dell Partner specializing in Enterprise Architecture, Kovarus gains additional expertise in key enterprise products and solutions, including servers, storage, virtualization, computing flexibility and energy efficiency.  In addition to the basic benefits available to Dell Registered Partners, Dell Certified Partners can take advantage of access to demonstration units, field-based account management, and enhanced financing options, deal registration and support.

“PartnerDirect is designed to provide companies like Kovarus with the opportunity to leverage Dell’s size and scale while also helping us to evolve our culture,” said Greg Davis, Dell vice president and general manager of Americas Channel Group.  “Allowing our partners to utilize many of the features that we provide to end users to make their companies more efficient, PartnerDirect relationships also help us to create an environment where our teams are out winning on behalf of Dell.”

“We are honored to be named a Dell Certified Partner,” said Peter Castaldi, principal of Kovarus. “This kind of recognition further demonstrates how combining Dell’s superior reputation and mature technology with our engineering and virtualized data center experience forms a strategic partnership to assure our customers are receiving the best and most complete server and storage solution in the market.”

Through PartnerDirect, Dell is formalizing existing initiatives to help partners like Kovarus increase profitability and deliver greater value and choice to their customers. In December 2007, Dell launched a dedicated partner online community to broaden conversations about how Dell can best meet the needs of its partners and work with them to simplify information technology for their customers. 

Based on feedback from thousands of solution providers, features developed as part of the PartnerDirect program include:

• Access to a dedicated partner Web site at www.dell.com/partner;
• Partner logos and guidelines for certain marketing activities;
• 100-percent dedicated sales and customer care;
• Certification paths and training;
• Credit options; and,
• Deal registration serviced by SalesForce.com’s partner relationship management tool.
  

Organizations interested in Dell’s PartnerDirect program can learn more by visiting www.partner.dell.com.

About Kovarus
Kovarus, Inc., is a premier technology consulting firm, specializing in data center design, implementation, and optimization. With its extensive industry expertise and proven methodologies, Kovarus helps companies align IT with strategic business goals and maximize their return on technology investments. Kovarus' unique ability to converge virtualization, storage, and networking technologies gives its clients a distinct operational advantage, enabling them to improve the efficiency, performance, and agility of service delivery. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company was founded in 2003 and has been chosen as a premier partner by leading technology companies including VMware, EMC, and Cisco. More information about Kovarus can be found at www.kovarus.com.

About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.dell.com, or to communicate directly with Dell via a variety of online channels, go to www.dell.com/conversations. To get Dell news direct, visit www.dell.com/RSS.

Media Contacts for Kovarus:
Sophia Le            (650) 392-7848    sle@kovarus.com