Blogs

Welcome new blog #DellSolves

Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:15:00 GMT

Since the early days of Direct2Dell, I’ve been passionate about using it to blog about issues that are important to Dell customers. In those days, we had a very small team. Today, our social media efforts have grown in a number of ways—especially how we support customers via social media.

Back in July I blogged about how the @DellCares team supported customers on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere on the web. Since that time, we’ve expanded that teams reach, and now provide similar support to business and enterprise customers via @DellCaresPRO. The #DellSolves blog is a team effort that will include input from a variety of employees who support customers online and from the broader Dell Services team. See Jason Duty’s post for a more detailed explanation of what to expect from the #DellSolves blog (or click on the image below).

#DellSolves content will be focused on a few categories overall:

Customer Service and Technical Support
Dell Services
Dell Support Online
Social Media Support

You can check out the #DellSolves blog here: http://Dell.to/DellSolves

If you’re interested in keeping up with the latest support-related and service industry blog posts, recommend that you bookmark #DellSolves or subscribe to the #DellSolves RSS feed here. Otherwise, you can keep up with the RSS feed via Twitter @DellSolves.

Introducing #DellSolves

Jason Duty — Mon, 21 May 2012 17:00:00 GMT

Hi, I’m Jason Duty, and as this is my first Dell blog post, I thought I’d take the opportunity to e-troduce myself to our readers. But more importantly, in this post I’ll give you an overview of this new blog we’ve launched, #DellSolves, how it can benefit you, and what we hope to learn from it.

I started my career at Dell almost 14 years ago in Customer Service supporting our consumer and small business customers when they had to call Dell for help. I learned a lot in that role, from how our systems were manufactured to how customers used our products in their homes and businesses. But the most important thing I learned was the value of listening (like my dad used to say, “You have two ears but only one mouth for a reason”) and how just simply validating, understanding, and empathizing can show someone that you care.

Since those early days in Customer Service, I’ve served in a number of roles at Dell, all of them centered around our customers, and I now have the pleasure to lead an organization we call Social Outreach Services (SOS) along with my partner in crime, Vik Doddi. SOS is the organization supporting Dell customers on social media platforms and online communities. Between Vik and myself, we cover everything from home computing to enterprise-wide storage solutions.

If you’ve worked with the @DellCares or @DellCaresPRO Twitter teams, then you’ve already met some of our team members. As part of this role, I get to talk with our customers…a lot. As I talk with and listen to different customers, and as I share with them some of the improvements we’re making in Dell support and services, invariably I get asked why we don’t share these improvements with our customers more often.

So in a nutshell, that’s what we hope to do with #DellSolves, share some of the improvements that we’re making in terms of how and where we support Dell customers to enable them to grow and thrive in their endeavors. But we’ll also be using #DellSolves to listen and understand your perceptions of Dell support and services. You can expect to hear from the following folks on a regular basis:

Jugraj Singh and his team will let you know what our contact centers are doing to improve the experience for you when you have to call, chat, or e-mail Dell for customer service or technical support. See Marisol Bustamante's first post about Premium Phone Support as an example of what to expect.
Dineen Mansfield will share updates about Dell’s e-Support, support.dell.com, and all of the new features and functionality the team is building to help customers solve easily online. See Dineen's first post here.

Kevin Carrillo, Sofia O’Malley, and Chris Downey will tell you about some of the great services from security, to protection, to optimization that can help you succeed with your technology. Here's Kevin's first post that offers an overview of Dell Services and Chris Downey's first post re: Dell's Solution Station and more.
Vik Doddi, Travis Bailey, and I will talk about some of the different things we’re doing in Social Media and Communities (SMaC) to support our customers. Here's Travis Bailey's first post that discusses @DellCares support videos on YouTube.

We will be sharing a lot of Dell stuff, but it won't all be Dell content. We’ll also be sharing some industry news, info on new support trends and technology, and thoughts from some guest bloggers from time to time. We’re all looking forward to this new opportunity to connect with our customers and to share more about how #DellSolves.

Please leave a comment to let us know what you would like to hear about from us.

@DellServices Enables Customers to Do More with Their IT

Kevin Carrillo — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:59:00 GMT

Dell Services has always been about helping customers do and achieve more by continually solving end-to-end IT services challenges through innovative and practical Solutions that deliver results faster. Unlike our competitors, Dell solutions are open, standards-based and scalable, which allows us to take advantage of the most innovative, breakthrough enterprise technologies as they hit the marketplace. This week, we will be highlighting each of the four lines of services that Dell Services provides to help serve as an informative outline for what’s to come in future posts.

Here's an overview of the Dell Services organization from Steve Schuckenbrock, president of Dell Services during Dell's Annual Analyst Conference a few week ago:

(Please visit the site to view this video)

@DellServices:

Applications / Business Process Services
Infrastructure / Cloud Computing Services
IT Support / Deployment Services
IT Security Services - @DellSecureWorks

#DellSolves Applications & BPO Challenges

By Savitha Lakshman

The Dell Applications team works hard to create and implement solutions and business models that drive innovation. We help our customers derive desired business outcomes by delivering application solutions that optimize their costs and current environments. In addition to providing strong capabilities and practices around processes to develop applications, we help optimize the cost of applications by delivering, supporting and maintaining applications in a more productive manner by moving them to more open architectures. By creating new applications for our customers, we enable them to address their customers more creatively, productively, and cost-effectively.

We differentiate ourselves from other IT services providers by constantly looking at what is beyond today and rather focusing our efforts and expertise on the new generation of solutions for tomorrow, which include: cloud solutions, software as a service (SaaS), application modernization, mobility solutions, and building domain capabilities. Dell Application Services are delivered from global delivery centers using consistent methodologies and leveraged resources that provide customers with the best quality, cost-effective solutions that drive better business results. In future posts, we will provide updates on customer wins and our existing capabilities as well as highlight new service offerings.

Here's a video that explains the

(Please visit the site to view this video)

#DellSolves Cloud Computing Challenges & Fears

By Stephen Spector

The Dell Services Cloud team solves customer needs for a variety of public and hybrid cloud solutions by delivering enterprise class, proven, and secure clouds based on VMware technology and leading open source technology. These public clouds are rolling out globally throughout 2012 and into 2013 as Dell solves not only regional cloud access issues but also delivers a complete global load balanced cloud solution for large enterprises.

In addition to offering basic cloud access, we are deploying disaster recovery, backup, and managed hosting products to customers as part of the cloud end-to-end solution offerings for our customers. Working directly with our private cloud, security, Boomi, vStart, and other cloud related groups, the Dell Cloud Services team is solving public and hybrid cloud issues facing customers looking to expand their existing cloud infrastructure. In future posts, I will detail newly launched solutions, highlight customer wins, and demonstrate the value to customers delivered via our public cloud solutions.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

#DellSolves IT Support-related issues

By Natasha Bohorquez

Business and organizations continue to evolve their IT environment in the face of new technologies. From shifting end user and data center needs to varied locations and compliance or security concerns, the Dell Global Support and Deployment team helps customers navigate through these complexities. We offer a comprehensive mix of configuration, deployment, end-to-end support, and IT asset disposition services for efficiently managing end user and data center needs.

With in-factory preparation of images, applications and hardware, Dell provides customers with preconfigured systems that are customized and ready for use, straight out of the box. During deployment, our certified technicians help with proven methodology and apply expert knowledge to lower costs, avoid interruptions and reduce installation times. When it comes to support, our customers can tailor options to address specific scenarios and make the most of limited budgets. Customers choose from a suite of hardware and software support, protection, and advisory services that range from end-user PCs, data centers, client-computer applications, mixed environments and solutions. Look for upcoming blogs featuring new offers, capabilities and easy ways to help our customers succeed.

Here's an overview of what Dell ProSupport service offers our commercial business customers:

(Please visit the site to view this video)

@DellSecureWorks – “Your Best Defense Against Hackers”

By Ashley Vandiver

Recognized as an industry leader by top industry analysts and winner of SC Magazine Awards “Best Managed Security Service” category six out of the past seven years, Dell SecureWorks provides world-class information security services to help organizations of all sizes protect their IT assets, comply with regulations and reduce security costs. By partnering with Dell SecureWorks, organizations are able to get ahead of rapidly growing IT security demands and reduce their risk of data breaches, downtime and non-compliance. With a broad and flexible portfolio of Managed Security Services, including SIM On-Demand, Log Monitoring and Retention, IPS/IDS, Firewall Management, Web Application Firewall, Host IPS, Vulnerability Management, Web Application Scanning, as well as Security & Risk Consulting and Threat Intelligence Services, Dell SecureWorks partners with organizations of all sizes and industry types to minimize their exposure to noncompliance, breaches and downtime. By our managing and monitoring customer security devices, servers, databases and applications, customers can focus on other strategic security initiatives that support business growth.

Dell SecureWorks has a worldwide presence across six continents in more than 70 countries. With a global view of the cyber-attack landscape, Dell SecureWorks’ GIAC-certified security analysts see and process more than 29 billion events a day. The Counter Threat Unit (CTU) research team is one of the most respected in the industry, and diligently works to identify emerging cyber security threats, develop preventative countermeasures and deliver that intelligence to Dell SecureWorks’ customers worldwide. In future posts, we will provide updates on our customer’s stories and our existing capabilities as well as highlight new solution offerings.

Here's a video that provides a quick overview of Dell SecureWorks:

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Set it up and keep it protected with Dell Services

Chris Downey — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:58:00 GMT

Do these scenarios sound familiar?

Scenario 1: Your computer is a couple years old. It was top of the line when you bought it and you know you can get more time out of it. Lately it’s been running slow and sometimes it crashes. You paid good money for the machine and you deserve to get more time out of the computer.
Scenario 2: You just bought a new computer. Either you don’t have the time or the know how to get things set up. How do you get data off your old computer? How do you set up a wireless network, printer and email? You can only bribe the IT guy at work so many times with doughnuts until he’s tired of being your personal IT guy.
Scenario 3: You bought a Dell and want to make sure your computer stays protected with a Dell Warranty but first you want to find out find out your warranty status. Sure you have an idea when you purchased it but you don’t remember the details of your warranty or when the coverage ends.

Our Services team has worked hard to bring you a suite of offerings to get you set up, keep you up and running and protected. Need to set up a PC, wireless network or connect a printer or camera? Whether it’s a Dell or another manufacturer, Solution Station has a product to cover your needs. Bought a TV and new home theater system? We’ve got you covered there, too. Get the TV hung on the wall, home theater system set up and remote programmed.

And what about your current computer that you want to keep running smoothly? Whether or not it’s a Dell we’ll take care of you. Take the Free PC Health Check and you'll know exactly what is slowing your computer down. You'll get a customized report detailing your computer's errors and how to fix them. The photo below shows a sample screenshot of a report you’d get from running the Free PC Health Check:

If you bought your product from Dell you might want to check your current warranty status. In many cases you can extend your coverage and to keep that peace of mind you currently enjoy.

In the coming weeks you’ll continue to hear more from us regarding Dell Services and how we can get you up and running or keep you that way. Bookmark our blog or follow the RSS feed of our blog posts on Twitter: @DellSolves

We’re committed to our customers. We’re committed to service. And that’s why we endeavor to cover not only Dell products but other manufacturers as well. Visit SolutionStation.com for more information.

Getting the most from your PC and software with Premium Phone Support

Marisol Bustamante — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:57:00 GMT

Getting the best performance from your PC requires that both hardware and software are performing optimally and stay up and running. Dell’s basic warranty (Consumer, Commercial and Public Sector) covers hardware issues if they do happen. To offer more, we recently launched Premium Phone Support that goes beyond the Dell hardware and covers everyday software issues for our everyday consumer.

Premium Phone Support has been introduced based largely on customer feedback. Many customers contacted our support teams for help with software issues, which their basic hardware warranties did not cover. With Premium Phone Support, customers receive “how-to” support for their operating system and common software applications like email, productivity, financial, internet browser, or photo/video editing software. Assistance is also provided for things like wired/wireless network device setup, printer setup, and simple software installation and removal.

We created this integrated hardware and software support offering to fill a critical gap that has emerged as customer needs evolve. Premium Phone Support is a useful addition for many customers in a world undergoing much change, including things like the evolution of the digital home, proliferation of Internet-connected devices, increased personal cloud storage options, and the rise of an increasing mobile, social workforce.

We created Premium Phone Support for the following kinds of customers:

Students storing critical documents that require immediate access
Mobile, affluent professionals in need to store critical applications
Families with children requiring software assistance for school, work and play

Lastly, and most critical, Premium Phone Support offers 24x7 access to advanced technicians for software and hardware issues*. This means faster response times and less hold times.

The response from customers has been strongly positive, with increasing number of customers opting for Premium Phone Support instead of just basic hardware warranties.

As part of America’s Best Protection Plan that we offer as an option for our XPS line of laptops and desktops, our recently-launched XPS 13 comes standard with 1-year of Premium Phone Support in the United States. Premium Phone Support is also available in New Zealand, China, India, Japan, Canada, UK, Germany, Austria, Ireland, France, Sweden, and Belgium. Additional countries in Europe will launch in the second half of the year.

If you have any questions about Premium Phone Support, please feel free to comment here.

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*Availability and terms of Dell Services vary by region. For more information, visit www.dell.com/servicedescriptions or contact your sales representative

Dell + Wyse + Citrix partnering to bring one great end to end desktop virtualization solution

Janet Diaz — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:42:00 GMT

Dell, Wyse and Citrix are trendsetters in the desktop virtualization marketplace with a proven track record of delivering on products that meet customers evolving needs. Today we are pleased to announce that we have partnered to bring together two reference architectures that combine Dell’s commitment to desktop virtualization with the DVS Simplified and DVS Enterprise solution offerings. Wyse’s more than three decades of cloud client expertise along with Citrix’s desktop virtualization prowess in the marketplace.

You will see in these reference architectures that with the pairings from these three companies we have created an end-to-end solution that will meet your desktop virtualizations needs.

Let’s begin.

Dell’s DVS Simplified appliance partnered with Wyse’s T10 Thin Client

Dell’s DVS Simplified Appliance utilizes Citrix VDI-in-a-Box VDI software to give you the ability to quickly deploy a desktop virtualization solution with a simplified management experience. This simplified wizard based management allows IT generalist to manage virtual machines where historically IT specialist or a team of consultants were needed. As you can imagine this key benefit can drastically drive down your IT workforce cost. These desktop virtualization benefits are further enhanced by the Wyse T10 thin client which gives you an unparalleled user experience brought to you by Wyse ThinOS.

The Wyse T10 thin client delivers a superb user experience and security features while still meeting your budget demands. It has been fully tested and validated with Citrix VDI-in-a-Box and is Citrix Ready certified. What does this mean for you? It means you can be insured that the combination of Dell’s DVS Simplified appliance, with Citrix VDI-in-a-Box and the Wyse T10 thin client are the perfect marriage if you are a small or medium sized business looking for a solution that is fast and easy to deploy that simplifies the management experience of desktop virtualization.

Some of the other great features and benefits that are in this reference architecture are:

DVS Simplified Appliance integrates factory installed software on pre-configured hardware
Citrix VDI-in-Box wizard-based setup and implementation cuts deployment time from quarters/months to weeks/days
The desktop virtualization management console centralizes IT control and requires no special expertise
Wyse’s ThinOS 7.1 allows you to boot and be logged into your secured network within seconds.
Wyse’s T10 built-in hardware media processor delivers smooth multimedia, bi-directional audio and flash playback performance
Both the Wyse T10 and DVS Simplified appliance have been fully Citrix Ready certified and support HDX technology. HDX technology delivers a “high definition” desktop virtualization user experience to end users for any application, device or network

You can download the DVS Simplified reference architecture here.

Dell’s DVS Enterprise offering with Wyse’s T10 Thin Client and Xenith Pro Zero Client

Dell’s DVS Enterprise offering gives you the maximum feature set, device integration and flexibility for desktop virtualization. DVS Enterprise is a solution that scales from 50 users to 50,000 users. Not only does it feature scalability options typically not seen in desktop virtualization offerings, it also features best in class hardware. Dell’s new 12G servers have dramatically reduced the cost per user. You can see up to 50% more users per server than the previous Dell DVS Enterprise solution. What makes this reference architecture more complete than ever is the combination of Wyse’s T10 Thin Client and Xenith Pro Zero Client which are both Citrix Ready certified. These two clients are the perfect complement for DVS Enterprise because they streamline the delivery of the Citrix infrastructure, are Citrix Ready certified and deliver exceptional performance utilizing Citrix HDX technology. The Xenith Pro is up to three times faster than competing devices which allows users to get an unparalleled multimedia experience without putting an unnecessary load on your servers. Some other features that you will see in the reference architecture are:

Wyse’s Xenith Pro powers on in just 6 seconds and goes from standby to on in 2 seconds
The Xenith Pro draws less than 14 watts of power in full operation
Plug-n-play operation with auto-discovery and zero configuration and hands off client management
Dell’s DVS Enterprise is readily expandable from a pilot to a large deployment
DVS Enterprise offers solution services to meet the exact needs of the enterprise. From on-site deployment and break fix services to training services.

You can download the DVS Enterprise reference architecture for this solution here.

As you probably guessed we are extremely excited to bring you two reference architectures that leverage three companies that are leaders in the desktop virtualization marketplace. With these two reference architectures Dell, Wyse and Citrix have partnered to bring customers a solution that is tailored for their needs.

Remember, for small and medium sized customers that want to enjoy the benefits of desktop virtualization, DVS Simplified with Citrix VDI-in-a-Box paired with the Wyse T10 is the right solution. And for large enterprise customers who need flexibility and scalability, DVS Enterprise with Citrix XenDesktop paired with the Wyse T10 thin client and Xenith Pro Zero Client, is likely the solution for robust demands.

If you want to take the first step into the realm of desktop virtualization, I suggest you check out the reference architectures or learn more at dell.com/desktopvirtualization.

Dell Solution Center Network Expands in Australia and U.S.

Lee Morgan — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Dell’s focus on helping our customers “Do More..” was reinforced over the last two weeks as we opened new “Solution Centers” in Sydney and New York City. Interest in these two centers has been huge since we first announced these locations and we already have numerous engagement requests from customers and partners who want to see and test how Dell solutions can meet their unique requirements.

Each center was launched with an event attended by customers, alliance partners, channel partners and media. In New York, we were also delighted to meet with several industry analysts. Our guests were invited to tour the centers and experience a diverse range of industry and technology solutions that were demonstrated by our teams of solution experts. These included banking & securities, education, healthcare, cloud including “big data”, storage, business intelligence and end user computing solutions.

Dell Solution Center Sydney

On Tuesday May 1^st we opened our Sydney Solution Center. Steve Schuckenbrock President Dell Services and Joe Kremer Managing Director Dell Austrailia/New Zealand (ANZ), formally opened the center at an event that kicked off with a reception for customers, press and partners, Feedback on the center has been really fantastic as a valuable tool to help ensure solution implementation success.

Located in our French’s Forest campus outside Sydney, the Solution Center is the first to open in Australia and will support a diverse range of customers from across the ANZ region.

Dell Solution Center New York

Thursday, May 10^th, saw the grand opening of our New York solutions center. We were delighted to be joined by Mary Young, VP Large Enterprise segment, Bob Barris, Vice President, G500 Banking & Securities and Jan Uhrich, Vice President Services and Solutions Group, who officially opened the center in front of 60 guests.

The New York Solution Center is located on the 29th floor of One Penn Plaza, perfectly situated in midtown Manhattan with excellent transportation links for customers along the east coast.

Dell Solution Centers

Dell Solution Centers enable customers to explore and prove solutions unique to their specific requirements leveraging dedicated infrastructure, supported by our team of solution experts. We have opened eleven centers in the past year and have engaged with thousands of customers on proof of concept engagements, architectural design sessions and technical briefings. Our twelfth center will open late summer on our Silicon Valley campus. Our centers are connected via a global network that supports both remote access, as well as providing a fantastic test bed to validate multi-site solution requirements.

You can learn more at www.dell.com/solutioncenters. Talk to your account team today if you feel a solution center engagement could help you to find the right solution to meet your business requirements.

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Photos:

TOP: Sydney (ribbon cutting) :

L-R:: Jan Uhrich, Mary Young, William Collins, Bob Barris, Lee Morgan

BOTTOM: Sydney (5 men standing)

L-R: Evan Williams (Microsoft), Joe Kremer, Steve Schuckenbrock, Lee Man Wei and Lachlan Botticchio

Dell Channel Partner Steve Hipskind Talks About the Impact of Acquisitions

Laura P. Thomas — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

It always energizes me when I have a chance to talk to one of our customers, and our resellers, distributors and other channel partners are especially interesting as they are both our customer and our face to other customers.

So, when I first spoke with Steve Hipskind of Hipskind Technology Solutions Group, I knew I wanted to share his story with more people. Hipskind Technology Solutions Group’s goal is to provide a total IT solution for their customers by selecting from the best manufacturers in the industry.

A Dell partner since he started the business in 2006, Steve’s seen us evolve and grow our business, while he grew his own. With last week’s announcement about the close of our acquisition of SonicWALL, the timing was right to share our recent conversation about the impact of acquisitions on Dell and our channel business.

Steve, you’ve been a Dell partner for six years, what’s it been like going through acquisitions with us?

Well, EqualLogic was the first one. When we started the business in 2006, we resold both Dell and EqualLogic but when Dell bought EqualLogic that’s when we saw them really begin to embrace the channel with the PartnerDirect program. At that point, we switched into being a Dell-only partner for servers and storage, but our business continued to evolve around solutions such as VMware, and Dell evolved as well being a strong VMware partner. And throughout that time Dell was doing additional acquisitions like Silverback and MessageOne, and then Ocarina was the beginning of a new acquisition phase.

How did you feel about that “acquisition phase?”

I’ve embraced it and it helps me grow my business. While we were very aware of Compellent prior to Dell’s purchase, we did not resell them because at that time, we focused on EqualLogic. But there were accounts with a scale too large or a different technology need that Compellent was able to meet, so once Dell did buy Compellent we embraced it. It’s been very good for our business. It definitely is a technology that increases our portfolio and who we can speak to about storage and virtualization. We see them as very complimentary – there are things that one does that the other doesn’t, so it’s great to have options to find the right fit for the size of the customer and their applications. Force10 was another great acquisition – almost the EqualLogic of switches. From a technology standpoint, Dell owns the IP now.

You look at all those acquisitions and you begin to see that it’s really a differentiating factor as opposed to partnering with IBM or HP. From a technology standpoint, when you talk about the stack – a collection of hardware housed within a rack – usually at the top or the bottom of the stack you’ve got power coming in and then you conductivity and you need to protect that conductivity and you’ll need internet, so all that is in the stack plus the servers, storage, switch, firewall and router. Dell owning the entire stack – not only manufacturing the hardware, but owning the IP in there that’s a change that’s going to change the valuation of Dell.

What impact do you think today’s SonicWALL acquisition will have?

SonicWALL is a really interesting technology. Because of what’s happening with the ASA’s (Adaptive Security Appliances) everyone thinks of it as a firewall, but it’s really an infrastructure application device that manages your network. It’s really the next generation– I actually try to avoid using the term firewall because it’s evolved so much. And, now smaller companies have an opportunity to get a world-class piece of technology that’s really in the ballpark of a small or medium size business’ budget as well as larger businesses.

Being a leading edge technology that allows you to bring a solution to your customer in this area and give them value – whenever you can do that it’s helpful for your customer, allowing you to offer a solution for their IT challenge. We resold SonicWALL before the Dell acquisition because of that. Reselling it as Dell will be even better because now you have the Dell name behind it. Now you have one of the largest IT solutions companies behind it. And it will add to the breadth of the product as they’ve proven through other acquisitions. Dell is embracing the channel more and more through it, as well.

There’s going to be challenges partnering with anyone, but we’ve had a lot of successes with Dell. To my SonicWALL channel peers who are not yet partnering with them, I say meet with your channel rep to understand where Dell is today – give it a try and make your decision on whether to stay a year from now. Don’t make it today because you don’t know what you’re leaving on the table.

So you see Dell’s acquisitions as a positive for the channel?

Dell’s expanding portfolio has helped us deliver a lot of world-class solutions to our customers that let them concentrate less on IT and more on their business. Beginning with EqualLogic, and continuing to SonicWALL, several of these companies Dell has acquired also brought a channel culture with them. Plus, I think that Greg Davis [Dell’s vice president and general manager of Global Commercial Channel] has a great understanding of the channel and the challenges that it has within Dell and I think Steve Felice [Dell’s Chief Commercial Officer] has a great understanding of it, too. They’re both pretty smart guys that want to move their business forward not only directly, but also through channel partners to, ultimately, the end Dell customer. The culture of several of these acquired companies is channel-focused and is good to bring to Dell. That influence will ultimately strengthen our partnership going forward.

And you see yourself continuing to partner with Dell?

As we’re talking about all these acquisitions it’s obvious that Dell is leading the market in technology to provide world-class solutions for their customers. We’ve been working in partnership with them for a long time to make sure that those solutions add value for our customers and that we add value for our customers. Without a doubt, I see it continuing for many years.

Michael Dell is leading the transition of this company which is going to take some time, but the reality is this company has been in transition since it started and will continue to be so because this market moves so fast and he [Michael Dell] is without a doubt steering the ship down a path that is going to greener pastures. He gets it. He’s not following HP or IBM’s path, he’s making Dell’s own path. And a very cool path it is. I’m almost hesitant to talk about it because I’d rather keep that secret as long as possible.

I see it and watch it evolve on a daily and quarterly basis bringing Dell-branded solutions to the market place. No one else is doing that. Project this out five years from now, you can envision calling Dell to have the entire stack delivered. Plug it in and it will run for five years, probably flawlessly, at the most competitive price out there.

We’ve seen Dell invest heavily into the R&D of products it’s acquired over the years, and believe they will continue to enhance with each acquisition and be technology market leaders. Dell buys leading-edge technologies and stays on top of what’s happening in the market. And the cool thing about IT is that it will always be here. It’s a market that’s not going away anytime soon.

Dell delivers density

Paul Steeves — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:25:00 GMT

Anyone managing a data center faces the difficult balancing act of delivering on continually increasing performance demands, handling the cooling issues that usually result from that, and yet staying inside already physically constrained energy resources. More and more they are turning toward high density computing as the answer and making it a central tenet of their infrastructure strategy.

While designing the PowerEdge 12^th generation servers, we heard from many customers wrestling with this same dilemma. That’s why density is featured throughout the new PowerEdge 12^th generation server portfolio - with some particularly dense models – like the 2-socket/ 1U R620 rack server, the new quarter-height M420 blade server and the one I’m writing about today, the new 4-socket/2U R820 rack server.

The PowerEdge R820 is designed in response to customers who told us they wanted the extra performance of a four socket server without compromising on efficient use of space and energy. The R820 is the first-to-market 4-socket server that uses the Intel Xeon E5-4600 product family, which has a 75% performance increase over the E5-2600 product family. Yet it also offers tremendous density with 48 DIMMS (a full 1.5 TB of memory), 7 PCIe Gen3 expansion slots and up to 16 internal drives, all in its compact 2U form factor. And new PowerEdge 12^th generation I/O options like a split backplane, dual RAID controllers, Express Flash PCIe SSDs, and the modular Select Network Adapter make it even more powerful.

R820 delivers great performance for data intensive applications and has the ability to rapidly scale to handle the spikes that occur in transaction based workloads. It makes an excellent database server and is especially well designed for dense virtualization usage. In fact, the R820 optimally supports up to 60% more virtual machine instances in the same space as HP’s closest similar 4-socket offering (the 4S/4U DL580 G7). Its density allows it to do this – the large memory footprint that supports more VMs and the extensive local storage and expansion slots that give those VMs all the resources they need to run at high levels of efficiency.

The R820 also has what it takes to be a great mainstream database server for mid to large size operations. It can support 129% more database orders per minute in half the space compared to an HP Proliant DL580 G7. It minimizes query wait times using its 32 processor cores, 1.5 TB of memory and improved CPU performance, and eliminates potential I/O bottlenecks with its Select Network adapter flexibility, split backplane, dual RAID and Flash-based storage (which lets it rapidly process in-memory data without “fetching” from an external disk).

“Using these servers, researchers will be able to generate research results faster than before.” MICHAEL FENN, High-Performance Computing Systems Administrator, Penn State University

And lastly, the R820 is an excellent option for High Performance Computing (HPC) shops looking for performance with density. It has both 216% better SPECfp performance and 269% better LINPACK performance than previous generation Dell 2 socket/2U servers.

And the R820 does all of this while delivering 50% better power usage per core (47W) than the previous generation PowerEdge R710 and 106% lower annual operational costs compared to the 2-socket/2U PowerEdge R720. Like all the servers in the PowerEdge 12^th generation portfolio, the R820 supports a Fresh Air compliant configuration that lets you operate at higher data center temperatures – in some cases completely avoiding cooling costs.

Customers wanted more power in less space. We listened. The PowerEdge R820 is a perfect example of the mantra that has been adopted for the 12^th generation servers; “Designed by you. Engineered by Dell.”

Innovations that deliver results faster: Extending the benefits of 12th generation servers

Forrest Norrod, VP/GM—Next Gen Computing — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:00:00 GMT

In February we announced the next generation of our PowerEdge servers to an eager audience. We’ve had a tremendous response from customers, who appreciate our focus on developing meaningful innovations that help them achieve more.

Dell customer Harvey Newman, Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology told us, “For nearly two decades, the Caltech High-Energy Physics group and Center for Advanced Computing Research have been working to increase data throughput over long distances to facilitate the transfer and sharing of large scientific data sets among researchers. With these new server, processor, and networking technologies, we will be able to help researchers spend less time transporting data and more time testing scientific ideas.”

Expanding our portfolio to meet broader needs

To prepare for the next generation, we had more than 7,700 conversations with customers, specifically about design requirements. We wanted to understand their working environment, their current needs, and how those needs might evolve. One thing we heard loud and clear: one solution does not fit all. Some IT users require high compute density, others need maximum performance and memory, while others want a complete system that is small enough to fit under a desk and quiet enough to operate in an office. To meet those needs we are now introducing nine more PowerEdge 12^th generation servers.

Maximize efficiency

To improve the efficient use of IT resources we embed automation and intelligence in our servers and infrastructure that enable customers of all sizes to focus on adding value to their business, not rudimentary day-to-day tasks.

For our customers that need to manage multiple servers in the data center, we have a solution. With the one-to-many management capabilities in our blade Chassis Management Controller you can manage up to 288 of our new M420 blade nodes through a single IP address. That cuts out a bunch of administrative steps and headaches.

Small and medium business customers that want a straightforward, easy-to-use systems management console that provides basic Dell hardware management can utilize Dell OpenManage Essentials which is included in all of our new tower, rack and blade servers. Lots of customers see the benefits of our agent-free management:

Achieve more

Organizations today are looking at infrastructures to support improved applications and IT service delivery. One way Dell meets that need is by providing an integrated portfolio of infrastructure solutions across compute, storage and networking. We’re taking that integration to the next level with our newest PowerEdge 12th generation blade servers along with the new MXL 10/40G switch for our M1000e blade chassis system. Powered by Force10 technology, we bring the signature high performance to blade systems with the industry’s first 40G enabled blade switch. Packing more compute and high performance networking into the same shared physical space helps customers achieve more with a smaller footprint.

With the introduction of the PowerEdge M420, the world’s only quarter height 2-socket blade server, we are cutting blade infrastructure costs in half. This svelte blade server has double the processing density without any enterprise feature compromise, and packs a walloping performance punch with 175% rack-level improvement over half-height blades. The M420 is the densest 2-socket server in the world with the reliability, efficiency and enterprise class features that customers demand.

Ensure business continuity

No matter the size of your business or organization, secure, continual access to IT services is essential. We are extending reliability, availability and serviceability features across the full portfolio of Dell PowerEdge servers. Unlike some blade servers in the industry, the new PowerEdge M420, M520 and M820 blade servers have data protection with hardware RAID and serviceability with hot-swappable hard drives. We don’t short-change our small business customers with stripped down systems. We offer the world’s first full generation with enterprise-class RAS features for redundancy and fault-tolerance, memory mirroring, memory sparing, hot plug hard drives and redundant power supplies for large data centers and single tower servers alike.

Even more of our highest performing, most manageable, most innovative servers ever

We’re excited that the first wave of PowerEdge 12th generation servers is experiencing exceptional demand from customers around the globe. The new wave of PowerEdge servers brings Dell’s latest innovations to a broader audience. These new servers are well-suited to meet the needs of organizations that require all the enterprise-class features including embedded systems management they have come to expect from Dell, but at an impressive price for performance.

You can learn more about our new Dell PowerEdge servers here, or through any of Dell’s Global PartnerDirect Channel Partners.

Dell’s Customers Speak, Dell Listens: Green Packaging Program with Mushrooms Grows

Susan Beebe, Global Communications / PR — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:35:00 GMT

Recently, Dell’s Oliver Campbell was interviewed by Mashable (“Your Next Gadget Might Be Packaged in … Mushrooms?”) to share news about the Dell mushroom packaging program, which is one of the most progressive sustainable packing programs of its kind on the planet.

“Dell and mushrooms might not seem to go hand-in-hand, but the theory behind the partnership is core to Dell’s environmental philosophy, and very much customer-inspired. Oliver Campbell, Dell’s director of procurement for packaging, explains that he found consumers’ dislike for styrofoam packaging five years ago. For consumers, Campbell says, the main desires were clear:

‘They came back with three major things. They wanted the packaging to be smaller, they wanted us to use more sustainable content and they wanted to have a way to responsibly dispose of the packaging in an eco-friendly manner,’ he says.”

We’re very proud of Dell’s innovative and sustainable packaging program that furthers our ongoing commitment to the environment and enables our customers the power to be green too!

Related posts:

Mashable: Your Next Gadget Might Be Packaged in … Mushrooms?
Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/ecovative-design-new-york_n_1330090.html
Inbound Logistics: http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/packaging-grows-green/

Twenty-four Hours in a Private Cloud with Dell and Microsoft

Gaurav Chand, Exec Dir Global Solutions — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:00:00 GMT

I am excited to announce Dell’s participation as a Platinum Sponsor at Microsoft’s “24 Hours in a Private Cloud” virtual event today, Thursday, May 10. This event is an awesome learning opportunity for organizations developing public and private cloud strategies.

Organizations have a lot of strategic cloud implementation options and opportunities, such as choosing a cloud technology, defining the mix of public and private clouds and preparing for cloud management. This event will provide a concise snapshot of the critical decision points and best practices and will be chock full of educational presentations and thought-leadership discussions with top cloud experts.

As a Platinum Sponsor, Dell will be an active contributor to the day’s events. Participants can join Dell for a 20-minute keynote, an AIM-Systems Center Demo and a breakout session showcasing our vStart solutions. We will be sharing our Practical Path to the Cloud, including:

How to Velocitize Virtualization with vStart
The advantages of Dell OpenManage Integration with Systems Center
Accelerating virtualization adoption with Dell AIM

We also encourage participants to visit us at the Dell Virtual Booth during the event to interact with Dell cloud experts and to learn more about Dell’s cloud solutions.

24 Hours in a Private Cloud starts NOW. You can register for the event here. Microsoft will also record the day’s events for those that are unable to attend or want to access the content after the event. Sign up here to watch recordings after the event.

More on the Ivy Bridge upgrade for new Alienware notebooks

Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:15:00 GMT

Last week, John Blain mentioned that we’d be upgrading orders of the new Alienware M14x, M17x and M18x laptops we recently introduced. Since then, sites like Engadget, The Verge and Ubergizmo took notice, and since then some customers have had some questions. I wanted to take a few minutes to clarify some details on the subject.

If you ordered one of the new Alienware M14, M17 or 18x laptops after we introduced them on April 19, we’ve upgraded your order from the 2nd generation Intel quad core processor to the equivalent 3rd generation aka “Ivy Bridge” processor. There is one dual-core configuration of the Alienware M14x configuration that does not have an Ivy Bridge equivalent—because only quad core 3rd generation Intel processors are available at this time. Outside of that, all customers globally who have ordered one of the new systems should receive 3rd generation Ivy Bridge processors when your order ships (if it hasn’t already).

For those of you who have already received your new system, the easiest way to confirm the processor is via the System Properties in Windows 7. Here’s how to get there:

Click on the Start Button
Right Click on Computer (or whatever you renamed your machine to)
Click Properties

This should bring you to the System Properties information window which will look like this:

The screenshot above reflects an i7 Quad Core Ivy Bridge processor. If you ordered an i7 configuration, you should see something like “Intel ® Core ™ i7 3xxx QM CPU” in the Processor field. The key is the 3xxx part—it’s three as in third-generation Intel Core processor.

If you still have questions, or if you ordered one of these new systems and find out you do not have an Ivy Bridge (third-generation Intel Core) processor, let me know in the comments or send an e-mail message with your order number or service tag to Direct2Dell@Dell.com.

Dell and SAP Announce Cloud Migration and Joint Solution Offerings

Stephen Spector — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT

Dell today announced a 60 day promotional offer available by the end of May for customers looking to move their SAP solutions into a secure, enterprise class hybrid and public cloud. Leveraging the Dell vCloud with VMware vCloud Datacenter Service, customers running SAP solutions are offered the state of the art in secure, enterprise proven cloud technology managed by Dell with experience in providing quality cloud services.

Introduced are two new offers:

Dell Cloud Starter Kit for SAP Solutions – Helps organizations get started on their cloud journey quickly by providing customers with 60 day access to Dell’s enterprise-class, secure cloud environment. This offer includes compute power equivalent to 8,000 SAP Application Performance Standard (SAPS) unit of measure, is powered by Dell Cloud with VMware vCloud Datacenter Services and is coupled with Dell’s established consulting, application and infrastructure services in support of SAP solutions.
Dell Cloud Development Kit for SAP Solutions – By offering a rich development for running SAP applications, the Dell Cloud Development Kit for SAP Solutions provides Dell’s proven consulting services with an annual access to a robust 32,000 SAPS of capacity. In addition to superior application integration capabilities, Dell’s industry leading cloud platform, Dell Boomi, is also included.

In addition to moving SAP applications to the cloud, this offer also includes Dell modernization services to help organizations fully unlock the potential of emerging technologies. Dell Services not only provides expert guidance from project to completion, but we also also includes end-to-end consulting services to help organizations assess, define and implement the most appropriate solutions, tailored to meet a variety of needs and investment levels. The Dell services portfolio includes the following:

Dell Modernization Assessment for SAP Solutions – develop a roadmap to migrate, upgrade and enhance your SAP landscape.
Dell Cloud for SAP Solutions – agile, flexible infrastructure offered in pay per use model.
Dell Mobility for SAP Solutions - mobile SAP application blueprint & development services.
Dell Migration Services for SAP Solutions - “Safely” migrate SAP from UNIX or existing x86 to Dell Cloud platforms
Dell Application Upgrade Services for SAP Solutions – upgrade your SAP landscape with latest patches and code sets

For more information on this exclusive offering for SAP customers, please look for Dell at the SAP SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference from May 14-16, 2012 in Orlando, FL..

10 social media tips when commenting and responding to customers online [Infographic]

Kerry Bridge — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Take a look at almost any survey about social media and how businesses use it, there’s one clear constant – not only is business use increasing, but also the need for helping business employees understand how to use social media is increasing. Rewards for doing this well and risks if mistakes are made, are very real.

While there’s a huge focus on the big-picture aspect of understanding how businesses can best develop a social media plan and guidelines, let’s not overlook some basic and practical fundamentals that people will encounter day to day, like writing blog posts and making comments on posts.

No one wants to go through a baptism of fire as one well known company experienced on Facebook in 2010, where conversation rapidly became confrontational due, largely, to its approach to moderating and making comments.

You’d think it was pretty straightforward, right? Actually it is – your common sense will guide you best – but there are some key aspects to consider when posting online on a professional basis.

With that in mind, we’ve developed a handy infographic for small to medium-size businesses to help their employees assess how to comment and respond effectively on behalf of their company, whether this is on a blog post, a tweet, a Facebook wall post, or anywhere else.

Feel free to use/share our infographic – grab the embed code below to add it to your website or blog.

<a href="http://en.community.dell.com/dell-groups/small-business/p/socialmediatoolkit.aspx">socialmedia<img src="http://en.community.dell.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x0/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-00-07/0045.DELITP_5F00_Infographic_5F00_v10_5F00_Feb2_5F00_2012.png" alt="Infographic: Commenting and Responding to Comments online" width="***" height="****" /> </a>

The message here is simple – providing your small and medium business employees with useful tips will help them confidently embrace social media for the significant business benefits that it represents, whilst mitigating risks as far as possible.

Is this picture worth a thousand words? Is there anything you’d add (or subtract) in the infographic to make it even more useful? *Like* and share with your peers if you find this useful and find the flow logical when evaluating or making comments.

This post is one in a series of posts related to Dell’s social media resource centre and the Social media toolkit - A guide to how small and medium businesses can make the most of social media

View more documents from Dell for Business

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week: How has a teacher given you the power to do more?

Mark Horan — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:00:00 GMT

My favorite teacher growing up was my middle school science teacher, Mr. Strack. He taught through experiments, interactive lab assignments and compelling lectures making science both fun and interesting. Mr. Strack’s class was so exciting his students were learning without even realizing it. I know first-hand that teachers have a lasting impact on our lives and help shape who we are.

Today during Teacher Appreciation Week – and every day - I find it a sincere privilege to shine a huge spotlight on teachers across the nation and around the world. A favorite part of my job is seeing a teacher in action and witnessing the special connection between them and their students. It’s that moment when a student discovers how to do something for the first time, that moment when a teacher figures out how to address a student’s individual learning style and that moment when a teacher is moving about their classroom with a set of thirty or more eyes full engrossed in what they are explaining.

Over the years with Dell Education, I have met thousands of teachers around the world and have been so fortunate for each of these opportunities. Know that your work, your dedication, mentorship and leadership – not just in your classroom but as the school day extends past the four walls of the classroom – is appreciated and it is noticed. The innovation and knowledge you bring to our children will have a lasting impact on their lives.

Today and this week, we’re honoring each and every teacher out there – in classrooms and in the community. Please follow along throughout the week using #topteach on Twitter as team members across Dell share the importance of teachers in their lives. I also invite you to share how a teacher has given you the power to do more using #topteach and by following the conversation from our Twitter handle @DellEdu.

Tonight, we’re excited to have our student guests Zak Malamed (@zakmal) and Allison Wu (@allisonswu) plus others join us on Twitter at 8:30 pm EST for their first #studentvoice chat. Please join us as we hear straight from students about their favorite teachers and what they think makes a great teacher.

As a leader of Dell’s work in schools around the world – and as a parent and grandparent – THANK YOU to each and every teacher out there! We appreciate you.

Supporting youth through the FIRST World Robotics Championships

John Pflueger — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Last week, tens of thousands of students, mentors, parents and volunteers representing more than 600 teams in four robotics competitions gathered in St. Louis for the 2012 FIRST World Robotics Championships. These events closed out FIRST’s 2011-2012 season in a festival of enthusiasm for science and technology.

Dell was proud to be a part of this year’s program, as FIRST is a recipient of a Powering the Possible grant focused on youth learning.

For 21 years, FIRST (“For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”) has provided opportunities for grade school students from all walks of life to learn about technology and how to leverage that technology to solve complex problems. These programs have been steadily growing; close to 300,000 students participated in FIRST programs this year on more than 20,000 Junior FIRST Lego League, FIRST Lego League, FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition teams worldwide.

FIRST’s mission is to inspire the leaders of tomorrow through mentor-based programs that teach students about science, engineering and technology within a competitive, engaging and challenging atmosphere. This mission is at the heart of why we selected FIRST as a youth learning grant recipient, as it aligns with Dell’s focus on empowering youth with important information and communications technology skills. At the same time, participation in FIRST instills in each student a sense of “Gracious Professionalism.” The extent of FIRST’s success can be seen everywhere during the competition — from the pits where teams help their competitors address issues, to matches where ‘coopertition’ can be as important as a winning score, to the stands where the audience roots for accomplishments as much as individual machines.

Dell provided key assistance to three FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams, including The Tough Techs (FRC Team 151 in Nashua, NH). We also supported 11 FIRST Tech Challenge teams in Austin, Nashua and Peoria, and assisted the group managing FIRST’s Oklahoma regional tournament. As important as the financial support is, however, even more valuable is the time and support of mentors and volunteers. During the 2011-12 season, Dell team members volunteered more than 1,000 hours to help these students design, build, program and compete with their machines; we also helped at local and regional events.

As a parent of a FIRST student, a mentor to three different FIRST teams and a Dell employee, I feel privileged to have participated in last week’s event. While pictures can convey some sense of the scale of the festival, they can’t completely communicate the atmosphere of enthusiasm, energy and optimism generated by tens of thousands of students cheering on their peers.

The end of the season is at hand. FIRST has crowned its champions and recognized their key accomplishments. For many of these students, however, this is only the beginning. Many are graduating and are headed to colleges and universities where they will develop the additional skills they need for careers in science, engineering and technology. Dell is honored by the opportunity to play a role in this process and looks forward to seeing the ideas, innovation and solutions developed by our next generation of leaders.

Dell Vostro 470 desktop is your powerful new business partner

Forrest Bloede — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:00:00 GMT

We're bringing Ivy Bridge technology to our newest Vostro desktop. To put a new spin on the oft-used Goldilocks analogy—the new Dell Vostro 470 desktop is juuuust right, but has the ability to microwave your porridge when your business needs change.

The new Vostro 470 is the powerhouse desktop computer system in the Vostro portfolio and really represents an amazing sweet spot for business users. It's available in the United States starting at $599 and will be available in many countries around the world later this week. Businesses get a powerful PC at a price associated with entry-level computing, but it has the power and capabilities that move well beyond computing basics.

Right out-of the box, the Vostro 470 contains a number of features that bring real value and convenience. The 470 has moved to integrate a number of features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 3.0 ports. With four USB 3.0 and six USB 2.0 ports, the 470 is set for fast transfers, peripheral connections and serves as a power source for digital devices.

But as I noted about moving well beyond the basics, the Vostro 470 contains 4 DIMM slots that carry the foundation to grow with your business and evolve with your needs. With Intel’s third Generation Core i5 and i7 Quad Core processors, up to 32GB of memory and up to 3TB of storage, it can perform stressful business functions like financial modeling, data mining, video editing and web development with ease. With the use of the 32GB mSATA option, Intel’s Smart Response Technology provides SSD-like read/write performance for the files you use most, while providing lower storage cost with the traditional hard drive. Bottom line- you’re booting and loading those applications much faster and gaining a 33% performance advantage over a traditional 500GB 7200RPM hard drive.

So the Vostro 470 can definitely evolve with your business over time, but critical security and support services start right out of the gate with Dell ProSupport and DataSafe Online Backup, which gives your business (with little or no IT support) the peace of mind you need so you can concentrate on your business, not IT.

The Vostro 470’s formula for crushing today’s tasks and conquering tomorrow’s to do list:

A mini tower packed with power and leading-edge technology to handle your biggest workload,
Ample technology to stay on task and expand your business,
A suite of desktop-accessible service and support solutions designed with your business in mind,
3nd Generation Intel Quad Core i5 and i7 Processors for maximum productivity,
Built-in performance for business graphics, or upgrade to the blazing-fast NVIDIA or AMD HD discrete graphics for an even more powerful experience,
A tool-less chassis to expand your memory and graphics capabilities quickly and easily,
Four USB 3.0 and six USB 2.0 ports to connect all your digital devices and peripherals,
Optional 24/7 Dell ProSupport and optional Dell DataSafe Online Backup and
Built-in security services from Trend Micro.

Vostro 470 desktop (front ports view) – click image to see a larger version

The Vostro 470 is your powerful new business partner... go check out the Vostro 470out for yourself!

You can check out more images of Dell's newest machine by clicking on the Vostro 470 desktop album on Dell's Google+ page. Would love to hear your questions and feedback!

Here's a short video that walks you through the features of the Vostro 470 desktop:

(Please visit the site to view this video)
Disclaimer: Accessories and monitors are not included.

Dell’s XPS 8500 Desktop: Power, Flexibility and Ivy Bridge Technology

Nafisa Muzaffar — Tue, 01 May 2012 12:00:00 GMT

Are you ready for another Ivy Bridge-based system? Today, we're launching a new high-performance desktop—the XPS 8500. We made this machine for you, the desktop enthusiasts out there. Our goal was to bring you the latest technology and give you plenty of room to upgrade. We used a lot of your feedback on the XPS 8300 to make the XPS 8500 an even better machine. It's available in the United States starting at $749 and will be available in many countries around the world later this week.

From a technology perspective, the XPS 8500 desktop is powered by Intel 3rd generation i5 and i7 quad core processors—otherwise known as Ivy Bridge. As you’d expect, we paired the processing power with great GPU options as well. And we also wanted to provide lots of storage flexibility, so we support up to 3TB of internal storage. That means you can store all those pictures from your digital SLR or true HD videos you encoded without any worry of running out of disk space.

XPS 8500 desktop – click image to see a larger version

The high-end configurations feature the powerful AMD HD 7870 discrete graphics card with 2GB memory and gives you the power to breeze through intense video and photo editing applications. To ensure the system doesn’t get slowed down elsewhere, the XPS 8500 currently provides the option of 16GB DDR3 memory, and will support up to 32GB support in future.

While those speed improvements are a welcome addition, we wanted to do more. To make the XPS 8500 a more powerful machine, we added a couple of solid-state disk (SSD) options:

A 32GB SSD - The 32GB SSD which utilizes Intel Smart Response Technology (SRT). It’s a caching technology which makes the boot process faster and helps load applications quicker. On the XPS 8500 we saw a boot time improvement of 2.5X, over a traditional HDD only system! That’s right, you will have access to your data faster than ever before.
A 256GB SSD – Beyond the fast boot times, this option increases the system performance. For the XPS 8500, the OS image resides on your SSD drive while your traditional HDD is used to store all your personal files (music, images, documents videos) etc. We saw a 60% performance increase from traditional HDD in our benchmark analysis.

Try it out and let us know what you think.

Here's a quick video that highlights some of the cool features that make the XPS 8500 a great option for customers that want high end performance:

(Please visit the site to view this video)

We added 2 front USB 3.0 ports on the front of the system and 2 more on the back to give you more access to the devices. Additionally, the system has 5 USB 2.0 ports that allow you to make the XPS 8500 a multimedia hub. One port I use most often is the one that utilizes USB PowerShare functionality so I can charge my cell phone without turning on the machine or resuming it from sleep/ hibernate mode. Just so convenient!

From a software perspective, we focused on removing bloatware to streamline the software load on the XPS 8500. That way, you can focus more on the experience of using the power a machine like the XPS 8500 provides.

We’ve also worked to provide some compelling peripheral options. One example: the XPS 8500 has a chic wireless keyboard that’s simple to configure and use. It doesn’t get in your way and I love that! We do offer a 24” monitor and several other larger options if you need to go bigger. Other options like the external Bose speaker are a great complement to the Waves MAXX Audio functionality that comes standard with all these machines. With that setup, your XPS 8500 can fill up just about any room with quality sound!

I know there are some of you out there who have an affinity for desktops and the flexibility they provide. You tend to be drawn to power and performance and need machines that can stand up to all kinds of strenuous computing demands. We designed the XPS 8500 with you in mind.

You can check out more images of Dell's newest machine by clicking on the XPS 8500 desktop album on Dell's Google+ page. Would love to hear your questions and feedback!

Dell’s 2012 Industry Analyst Conference

David Mehok — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:07:00 GMT

Last week Dell hosted the 2012 Industry Analyst Conference in Austin, TX. Industry analysts from around the world heard from Dell leaders who spoke to our progress and proof points of success in becoming an end-to-end solutions provider. The conference included keynotes highlighting how we are innovating and investing to expand our enterprise capabilities. We further discussed how these capabilities and associated solutions actually create competitive advantages for our customers. There were multiple customer panels demonstrating the value of these solutions capabilities. These customers were very clearly able to articulate why they partner with Dell rather than many of the other solutions providers in areas such as consulting and security services, public, private and hybrid cloud offerings and various forms of end user computing solutions. As we continue to enhance existing solutions and use our IP to develop new solutions, it is changing the conversations we’re having with our customers from one of hardware specifications to how Dell can solve their business needs through IT solutions.

Last week we also announced additions to our Virtual Network Architecture (VNA) portfolio including our first 40 gigabit blade server switch (the first Force10 switch in a Dell blade chassis), extended management software, and interoperability with the OpenFlow standard for software-defined networking. The integrated solutions that Dell now has across both 10GbE and now 40GbE networking fabrics are able to connect 10GbE servers, storage and networking for our customers. Dell’s VNA is an open framework for virtualizing, automating and orchestrating network services in data center, campus and branch environments. VNA is for a dynamic environment that can adapt as customer needs change. Watch for further details at Interop Las Vegas 2012 on May 8^th.

As always we welcome your comments.