UPDATED 10:23 EDT / JUNE 15 2012

NEWS

Dell Server Solutions Focuses on DataCenter, Customer Needs

Dell’s Brian Payne dropped by theCube during the Dell Storage Forum 2012 to talk about Dell’s server innovations and how they relate to storage.  Payne is the Executive Director of Server Solutions at Dell.  View the video below or click here. 

Payne starts out by talking about the challenge of bringing all the elements together and how all three product lines have gathered at this event.  For the server group, they are in the midst of a rollout of their 12th generation of the PowerEdge server line.  With that generation comes a bunch of new features and enhancements focused on the spectrum of customers they serve.

Dell is addressing one of the largest problems in IT today in the question of labor costs.  It is often cited that at somewhere between 50-60 percent labor cost in IT is a statistic that is choking innovation.  After validating this problem request through its 7700 customer interactions, their focus has been on features that make it easier to automate, deploy, and manager servers.  One example is a feature that allows for agentless management and deployment in their server products.  This takes away a layer of complexity for customers.

Dell has focused on their broad customer base and is meeting their needs by creating value and differentiating product lines.  In some scenarios, systems need to be library quiet.  Other scenarios have Dell answering questions on optimizing situations in the datacenter, including all the challenges inherent such as footprint, consumption of power, and so on.  Dell is taking configured orders to a new level and design to order.  Along the continuum, there is plenty of room to create value for their customers.

Payne talks about the company’s Copper announcement, and its goals of enabling the ecosystem in new ways.  The announcement marks an emerging server segment based on ARM technology that features footprint and power savings.   There is great interest in this technology and Dell is enabling development in this nascent market.  While Copper is a great leading-edge mission, the approach for efficiency goes across their product portfolio at each server design level, aiming to create higher density and lower power.

Payne states that innovation is ongoing, but ruling out acquisitions to build out their portfolio cannot be ruled out.  The long term vision for the server business revolves around enabling efficiencies, agility for end users, and exploring new technologies such as ARM.  Dell aims to be at the leading edge of efficient, secure capabilities as the existing and future range of applications and cloud deployments demand.

Big Data is discussed as a growing and undeveloped area where innovations could spark a game-changing shift for the company, differentiating it from the competition.  Dell approaches their customer through value and that takes an orchestrated approach as server and storage lines are blurred.  The company holds a strong value position because they have ownership of their design point.  Over the next few years, it is projected that I/O will be changing in a way that can drive application performance.  This has the potential to tie all those benefits together and open new business opportunities.


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