AUSTIN, TEX. — Dell held its first Dell World conference since becoming (once again) a private company last week, and here are 11 scenes from the conference, along with links to CDN‘s full coverage of the event.
1. Michael Dell charts course for world’s biggest start-up
Now that he’s firmly back in control of the company that he gave his name, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell began providing stakeholders with the long-term guidance and direction on strategy that they’ve been craving.
“We’re really excited about this. We have the fiscal strength, capital and scale to lead our industry as a private company, and we have the freedom to make the bold moves necessary,” said Dell. “We can focus 100 per cent on our customers, and take a long term view of our investments and the way they create value for you.”
2. Five priorities for a re-focused Dell
Here are the five priorities Michael Dell outlined to Dell World attendees for the re-focused, private version of Dell, including an expanded relationship with Dell’s channel partners.
3. Software key to Dell’s plans
Dell isn’t just about PCs. Dell’s software president John Swainson outlined the vendor’s plans to compete and win in the software market. Dell is investing heavily in endpoint security as part of its broader network and data centre security offerings, as well as its own enterprise mobile management (EMM) solution.
4. Dell goes to the cloud
Dell’s software play also includes a heavy bet on the cloud. The vendor announced used its Dell World conference to announce cloud-related partnerships with Microsoft, Dropbox, Google and Red Hat. Speaking to attendees during his keynote address, CEO Michael Dell declared cloud computing as the new model for technology.
5. The PC still matters to Dell
While there was lots of talk of software, services and infrastructure from Dell, attendees also got to go hands-on with the latest Dell PCs, from laptops and tablets to convertibles. And Dell stressed that the PC remains crucial to Dell’s strategy as an end-to-end IT provider, as the PC is the entrypoint for the vendor into many of its customers. For Dell, the PC still matters.
6. Investing in start-ups
Dell may make the computers used at many startups and growth stage companies, and it’s looking to play a more concrete role in their development too, with the launch of a new venture capital fund worth some $300 million. Dell’s Strategic Innovation Venture Fund will target early-to-growth-stage companies in emerging technology areas including storage, cloud computing, big data, next-generation data centre, security and mobility.
7. Dell goes green
Dell touted its commitment to the environment at Dell World, showing off some of its innovations around greener packaging, from new materials to using less. In addition to smaller boxes, combining orders and improved logistics, Dell is also using mushroom packaging and materials such as bamboo and wheat straw to lower its environmental impact.
8. Now THAT’s big data
A reminder from Dell on the solutions showcase floor that big data is only getting bigger. Good news, at least, for storage providers, as well as those trying to help people make sense of all that data we’re generating at an exponential rate.
9. You can drive my car…
Entrepreneur Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX was driven onto the Dell World keynote floor in one of his sporty Tesla electric vehicles. Musk spoke around how Tesla nearly went under, and his experiences as an entrepreneur and innovator.
10. Taking a game break
Dell’s Alienware gaming PC division had a booth that was a popular stop for many Dell World attendees. Many enjoyed trying out Dell’s virtual reality setup to play a first-person shooter game, which included virtual realty goggles and a movement simulator pad. As close to the Star Trek holodeck as we can get today.
11. Billy Idol rocks Dell World
Camp Freddie rocked the Dell World opening party. The band brings on a host of guest stars to play cover songs, and among the guests to join them at Dell World were Chris Martin, Mark McGrath, Slash and Billy Idol.