Business and information technology are invading each other’s space these days — at least in companies keeping pace with change. Business is becoming more tech driven, and IT must demonstrate the business value of technologies. With many vendors selling point solutions, IT can quickly get crowded with business goals lost in the mix.

“Imagine if IT had one tool to fix anything,” said Joe Batista (pictured), chief creatologist at Dell Technologies Inc. “That’s nirvana, but that’s not reality.”

Companies must compose different tools carefully, creating a symphony with all the right notes. Too many tools can lead to glut and overspending. Too few, and they will not deliver everything modern customers demand.

Dell has a huge portfolio of technologies, which explains why it needs to employ a “creatologist.” A 25% increase in function leads to a 100% increase in complexity, according to Batista. Selecting the right technologies for desired outcomes without drowning IT in complexity is Dell’s main mission today.

Batista spoke with Stu Miniman (@stu), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the WTG Transform event in Boston, Massachusetts. They discussed the science of marrying IT decisions to business goals (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

What’s the point of point solutions?

Batista’s job is to help IT organizations “reimage” the business. This includes examining IT decisions holistically both inside and outside the IT room.

For example, it’s not productive to adopt a point solution because it knocks down one bowling pin. What else is it doing in the IT environment and the business? Does it scale? What are its economics? What is it not doing?

“I know how to do feature analysis and benefit analysis of a point-in-time product — but what’s the periphery of activities that’s impacting that decision?” Batista asked.

Analyses like these represent how Dell is talking to customers about what they have to do to innovate. It’s doubling down to help customers define and reach business objectives — not just sell them miscellaneous stuff, according to Batista. And there are some signs that it’s succeeding: Dell just won 15 Stevie Awards for customer satisfaction.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the WTG Transform event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for WTG Transform. Neither Winslow Technology Group LLC, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE