There will be two “firsts” on the agenda for Dell Technologies World in Las Vegas next month.

It will be the first time Dell Technologies Inc. has been able to hold an in-person technology event since 2019, and it marks the first time the gathering has been held since Dell completed the spinoff of VMware Inc. in November.

The post-VMware world holds significant interest for Dell observers since the resulting debt reduction and simplified capital structure are expected to provide opportunities for new growth in a number of key enterprise areas.

New business opportunities and future innovation will be discussed during coverage of Dell Technologies World from Las Vegas by theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s livestreaming studio, May 2-5.

Multicloud and APEX

After delivering the best third quarter performance in its history from earnings reported in November, the company reported an unanticipated loss in its most recent quarterly results. A higher-than-expected tax rate and increased operating costs were factors in the drop, according to company executives.

Despite its earnings volatility, Dell has charted a growth course expected to take advantage of key trends involving multicloud, edge, as-a-service delivery, and remote work. These opportunities were outlined by Chuck Whitten, Dell’s co-chief operating officer, in a recent briefing for the media.

“Dell will purse unique growth opportunities where we have a unique right to win,” Whitten said.

Dell Technologies World will offer a chance to more closely examine Dell’s pursuit of new opportunities and its strategy for success, as theCUBE interviews company executives, partners and industry experts. (* Disclosure below.)

Central to Dell’s strategic approach will be APEX, the company’s as-a-service portfolio.

Previewed in 2020 and officially launched in May of last year, APEX has emerged as a key element in how Dell will deliver its data storage, hybrid and private cloud solutions. The goal is to provide customers with the ability to use compute or storage on-premises or off with the same ease and simplicity as they could in the public cloud.

Over the past year, Dell has added a number of new capabilities to APEX, including Multi-cloud Data Services, Backup Services for SaaS applications and hybrid workloads in the public cloud, and new DevOps-ready platforms with expanded Kubernetes support. More news is expected during the May conference.

“Dell will likely update on its progress with APEX and announce new services across its portfolio,” said Dave Vellante, industry analyst for theCUBE. “You’ll likely hear some discussion about ecosystem partnerships with some global system integrators, and also announcements about how they plan to appeal to the developer community.”

Telco expansion

The Dell gathering will also provide an opportunity to hear more about the company’s plans for the edge and expansion of its telco business.

In February, Dell unveiled a set of hardware and software services to facilitate the buildout of cloud architectures for 5G. Dell Telecom Multi-Cloud Foundation provides support for platform integration with partners such as Red Hat Inc., VMware and Wind River Inc. Dell also introduced an Open Radio Access Network Accelerator Card to offload 5G vRAN tasks for more efficient use of core processors.

Dell is shaping its 5G strategy around a need among telco providers for managing distributed networks as a single, cloud-like entity.

“Global carriers want to find a way to take advantage of more cloud-native architectures, so they can be more agile, deliver more services and grow their revenues,” said Dennis Hoffman, SVP and GM for Dell Technologies Telecom Systems Business, earlier this year. “What we’re aiming at is speed, simplicity, and ultimately reliability of acquiring the entire infrastructure from a single vendor while still keeping it open.”

Cybersecurity will undoubtedly be a discussion focus during Dell Technologies World as companies around the globe continue to confront ransomware and software supply chain threats. Dell has made a set of recent announcements in this regard.

In September, Dell announced new software and services designed to accelerate the availability of backup data on virtual machines in the event of a ransomware attack. This was followed by the October release of new Kubernetes modules with built-in security at the API level.

Dell also announced in early December plans to bring its anti-ransomware solutions to Amazon Web Services Inc.’s cloud platform with EMC PowerProtect Cyber Recovery. And this month, Kyndryl, the newly formed managed infrastructure provider created by IBM Corp., announced a partnership with Dell to jointly develop cyber resiliency services.

Channel growth and ESG

Channel partner sales may also receive some attention during the gathering in Las Vegas. The company revealed earlier this month that channel partners are now responsible for more than half of Dell’s business.

Out of $101.2 billion in revenue for the past fiscal year, Dell’s channel contributed $59 billion of that number, with an increase of 27% for the year. Company executives attribute the channel growth to the acceleration of digital transformation over two years of a global pandemic and continued expansion of enterprise multicloud interest.

Dell has also been actively pursuing a number of initiatives in Environmental, Social and Governance or ESG. The company has outlined an ambitious set of ESG goals as part of its “Progress Made Real 2030” plan for sustainability and social impact.

The upcoming event will offer an opportunity for Dell to discuss progress toward ESG milestones which include a commitment that 100% of its packaging will be made from recyclable or renewable material by 2030 and that 25% of its U.S. workforce and 15 of its U.S. leadership will be identified as Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino.

“ESG will likely be a big theme as companies like Dell must demonstrate its commitment to diversity and inclusion as well as the sustainability of the environment,” Vellante noted.

Livestream of Dell Technologies World

Dell Technologies World is an in-person event, with additional interviews to be broadcasted on theCUBE. You can watch the event live or on-demand here.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch the live coverage of Dell Technologies World, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

Guests

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE during Dell Technologies World include theCUBE VIPs Travis Vigil and Caitlin Gordon of Dell Technologies. 

Other returning theCUBE alum include Akanksha Mehrotra, Allison Dew, Chad Dunn, Doug Schmitt, and Shannon Champion from Dell Technologies; Itzik Reich from Dell EMC; and Jeff Clarke, Jen Felch, and Magi Kapoor from Dell.

Dell Technologies’ Alison Biers, Betsy Goodson Davis, Chuck Whitten, Darren Fedorowicz, JJ Davis, Jonathan Seckler, Patrick Mooney, and Satish Iyer will grace theCUBE’s table for the first time.

TheCUBE will also speak with John Dabek of Lowe’s Companies, Keith Bradley of Nature Fresh Farms, Steve Kenniston, a data protection expert who recently joined Dell from IBM Corp, and Tony Bryson from the Town of Gilbert.

Event Update!

Check out our full event coverage, as well as post-event coverage, and watch the complete event video playlist below:

(* Disclosure: Dell Technologies Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Dell Technologies nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE