Dell Technologies Inc. today introduced new products and services for Microsoft Corp. platforms that address data protection, resiliency and security.  

Dell APEX File Storage for Microsoft Azure will be a Dell-managed option for organizations seeking to simplify storage management in multicloud environments. It was previously available only as a customer-managed service. The service applies Dell PowerScale storage to support burst capacity for performance-intensive artificial intelligence workloads built on an architecture designed to support performance density and scale.

Dell said the platform reduces management complexity with simple data mobility and operational consistency across on-premises and cloud environments.

“Customers can go to the Azure portal and deploy it using the committed cloud spend they already have with Azure,” said Varun Chhabra, senior vice president of product marketing for the Infrastructure Solutions Group and telecom at Dell. “Once they deploy the service, Dell manages the infrastructure with the same benefits as Apex file storage for Azure, such as seamless data mobility, consistency of operations using on-premises PowerScale servers and the same tools you use to manage your file data.” The service will go into public preview beginning in the first half of 2025.

Copilot+ PC support

To simplify AI adoption and development, Accelerator Services for Copilot+ PCs provides guidance on new features, implementation plans, best practices and other ownership issues. In introducing Copilot+ PCs last May, Microsoft described them as the “the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs ever built,” with custom processors capable of achieving more than 40 trillion operations per second, all-day battery life and access to the most advanced AI models.

“We help them understand who are the user types, the user personas and the types of use cases that might drive the most business impact” for Copilot+ PCs, said Scott Bils, vice president of professional services at Dell. “We develop a set of recommendations on best practices for implementing them and rolling them out.”

Dell Services for Microsoft Copilot Studio and Azure AI Studio help companies develop and deploy Copilot agents. Implementation Services for Microsoft Azure AI Service supports on-premises AI application development with Azure AI services in the Dell hybrid cloud ror Azure.

“We essentially work with customers to understand their particular use cases and how to leverage Azure AI services best, the APIs [application programming interfaces] and models and how to leverage that for on-premises deployments of Azure-based AI solutions running on our Dell Azure Stack hyperconverged infrastructure,” Bils said. The services are available now.

Cloud data protection

Dell APEX Protection Services for Microsoft Azure will deliver Dell-managed cloud data protection across edge locations, remote offices and data centers. They enhance operational efficiency and reduce resource usage through data reduction.

The services provide zero-trust security controls, including immutability – or preventing against data being modified after it has been created — encryption, multifactor authentication and role-based access controls. Recovery times are accelerated up to 80% through the use of CyberSense, an AI-powered ransomware detection and prevention engine from Index Engines Inc. An included cyber vault reduces data exposure. Availability is on a subscription basis using Azure credits.

“We have over 10 exabytes of customer data protected by Dell data protection in Azure and this service builds on that on that track record,” Chhabra said. Availability is set for the first half of 2025.

New advisory services help customers align their cybersecurity posture with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model, a set of frameworks for measuring current security posture, identifying areas for improvement and implementing practices for improvement. Managed Detection and Response with Microsoft is a service that assigns Dell experts to monitor, detect, investigate and respond to threats across a customer’s entire information technology environment. It now includes Microsoft’s Defender XDR, a security platform that helps organizations detect, investigate and respond to cyberthreats.

“It provides a comprehensive view across the customer’s environment helps to protect endpoints, hybrid identities, email collaboration tools and cloud apps,” Bils said. Both services are now available.

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