For many years for me, the concept of Dell as an Enterprise IT provider always seemed to be….well, a little less than credible but over the past eighteen months or so that has begun to change. And for the me, the most important visible change has been the slow separation between them and EMC.
I like companies to take control of their own destiny; partner where weak but look to strengthen those areas to ensure that they are not exposed when the almost inevitable parting of the ways comes. Very few partnerships in IT stand the test of time; either ending in merger or separation.
Dell have also benefited from rapid commoditisation in the really large specialised data-centres providing customised servers via their DCS division; this has enabled them to work with some of the best and truly begin to understand scale.
They have acquired some interesting IP very cheaply in the form of Exanet; they picked up Ocarina at the right time in Ocarina’s development and finally picked up Compellent after loosing out to HP for 3PAR. They can probably feel pleased that they managed to get HP to overpay for 3PAR but Compellent do have an excellent product and very loyal customers.
Dell have also learnt to listen; their acquisition of The Networked Storage Company allowed them to gain insights from Enterprise customers which I suspect have been invaluable to them. And big storage customers tend to have big IT, so they’ve learnt more than just storage.
I don’t see Dell a lot yet professionally; they stick their heads round the door from time to time but generally they know what we buy and why we buy it. However when they do stick their heads round the door, they listen and appear to take interest.
And finally, they’ve been quietly hiring some really good people; a number of people in extended circle of friends/colleagues are popping up there. These are generally smart people who wouldn’t just jump for the first big pay-cheque waved in their direction; okay, some of them would but most wouldn’t.
Dell are no longer just a website or a glossy insert in a magazine selling you a PC at a knock-price; they appear to be growing into a serious Enterprise IT provider.
Thanks for the feedback you provided on your perception of Dell. I joined Dell 12 month ago coming from NetApp and my perception is the same – Dell has built a strong Enterprise portfolio with some unique solutions. I’m glad that this fact is recognised in the market more and more.
I think you are right, and I hope you are right. Obviously if you’re wrong then I am doomed 🙂
I hve done a lot of work with what was The Networked Storage Company (now called IT Simplification) within Dell in the last year. I have to say that they have some very able and experienced people indeed. Probably one of the smartest groups of people that I have ever come across. It was certainly a good move by Dell to acquire them and to grow them as they have done. I see them gaining mindshare in the big Enterprise organisations as a result of their continuing investment in high-end consulting.
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I’ve been a DELL customer for Enterprise servers for more than 2 and a half years. DELL has been trying to copy HP’s Channel Partner distribution model, however they have been completely unsuccessful. Their distribution partners had high margins for stock they do not keep and I always have to complain when they don’t upgrade my warranty to 4-hour mission critical support. I’m considering moving to HP in the next few months.