Dell Technologies Inc.’s integration of EMC assets in 2016 gave the company a cloud computing makeover that’s enabled robust growth and successful expansion into the hybrid cloud space. Yet how are these assets impacting Dell’s broader narrative as a digital transformer, including virtualization appliance provider VMware Inc. and hybrid cloud platform Pivotal Software Inc.?

While speculation of a VMware reverse merger has recently dominated news surrounding the company, behind the noise Dell is working strategically with its partners to facilitate digital transformation for clients in both private and public cloud environments. With Pivotal’s initial public offering made official in late April, how will shifts in EMC’s family of technologies affect the tech giant as customer needs scale?

Looking to answer these and other questions, SiliconANGLE is at Dell Technologies World 2018, currently underway in Las Vegas with exclusive commentary and interviews from our roving news desk, theCUBE. (* Disclosure below.)

Dell’s EMC acquisition created vast new potential for the storied tech company. In a little over a year since the $67 billion merger, Dell has seen a spike in demand for networking tools and signed on more than 10,000 new business customers. Global server shipments grew three percent in the past year, bringing total revenue up over 10 percent from 2016, and the last quarter of 2017 saw Dell EMC revenue growth in the double digits for both North America (28 percent) and Asia Pacific regions (35 percent). Dell EMC finished the year with majority market share after narrowly beating out Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co., with 19.4 percent to HPE’s 19.3 percent, and saw the largest growth in the quarter among competitors with overall revenue growth up by 40 percent.

Despite growth following the merger, acquiring EMC left Dell with a hefty debt. While revenue is reportedly outpacing expenses, the company appears to be leveraging Pivotal’s move to go public as a large part of its expedited recoup strategy. “This is about Dell continuing to de-lever so they can pay down the debt,” said Dave Vellante, an analyst with Wikibon (owned by the same company as SiliconANGLE). Pivotal raised $497 million in its IPO and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange April 20.

Dell’s EMC merger isn’t the only one making headlines. Rumors of VMware acquiring Dell have been at the forefront of conversation around the company, despite no confirmation from VMware Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger. While the acquisition could serve to further alleviate Dell’s financial burdens, keeping VMware separate in the EMC family of technologies would enable it to maintain strategic partnerships with Dell competitors, like Lenovo Group Ltd and HPE. VMware has proven one of the strongest driving forces in Dell’s hybrid management initiative, enabling the company to assist clients in taking advantage of the best of public and private cloud.

Through its EMC family and partnerships with organizations like Amazon Web Services Inc., Dell is operating as a right-sized data protection solution that provides reliable backup regardless of where the data lives. With the future of cloud rapidly accelerating, the company is positioned for even greater expansion into the hybrid space. International Data Corp. predicted that worldwide data services for hybrid cloud, or DSH, revenues would reach $68.8 billion by 2021.

Wikibon analyst Stu Miniman predicted that as the company grows within the cloud space, its tendency toward operational frugality will overtake the weight it has placed on EMC during this digital transition. “EMC always had overlapping products, while Dell is more frugal,” Miniman said. Their innovations in the cloud and insights for newly transitioning enterprises will all be explored at Dell Technologies World 2018.

Speakers at Dell Technologies World 2018 include Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive officer of Dell; Beth Phalen, president of the Data Protection Division at Dell EMC; Pat Gelsinger, chief executive officer of VMware; Karen Quintos, chief customer officer of Dell EMC; Jeff Boudreau, president of the Storage Division at Dell EMC; Joyce Mullen, president of the global channel, OEM and IoT Solutions, at Dell; Jeff Clarke, vice chairman of products and operations at Dell; Ray O’Farrell, executive vice president and chief technology officer at VMware; Ashley Gorakhpurwalla, president of server solutions at Dell EMC; Allison Dew, chief marketing officer at Dell; and Chad Sakac, Pivotal Container Service and Dell Technology Alliance at Pivotal.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch all of theCUBE interviews that will be taking place at Dell Technologies World 2018, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s event on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE’s dedicated website and Ustream

All of theCUBE’s exclusive interviews from Dell Technologies World 2018 will be available on theCUBE’s dedicated website.

You can also watch all the interviews on the two dedicated Ustream channels here: Channel 1 and Channel 2.

Watch on the SiliconANGLE YouTube channel

All of theCUBE interviews from Dell Technologies World 2018, which runs from April 30 through May 3, will also be loaded onto SiliconANGLE’s dedicated YouTube channel.

Cubecasts

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

Guests who will be interviewed at Dell Technologies World 2018

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE include Dell Technologies World speakers Michael Dell, Pat Gelsinger, Karen Quintos, Joyce Mullen, Jeff Clarke, Ashley Gorwakhpurwalla, Chad Sakac and Allison Dew.

Other guests include Marius Haas, president and chief commercial officer of Dell; Bask Iyer, chief information officer of Dell EMC; Ben Gibson, chief marketing officer of Nutanix Inc.; Chad Dunn, vice president of product management and marketing at EMC; Dan McConnell, vice president of converged platform and solutions at Dell EMC; and Elizabeth Phalen of Dell EMC.

Dell Technologies World 2018 Livestream

If you are unable to attend Dell Technologies World in Las Vegas, you can still catch a livestream of the event’s keynotes, product announcements and demos from the comfort of your home or office.

A live video stream of the event will take place from Monday, April 30, at 10 a.m. PT to Wednesday, May 2.

View the livestream at the official event page.

(* Disclosure: Some segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE are sponsored. Sponsors have no editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Image: theCUBE