Dell EMC World 2017: Why There’s No Stopping The Dell Technologies Juggernaut
IN DEPTH: Dell EMC World 2017 is over, but this is just the beginning for the Michael Dell-led conglomerate
But aside from the individual products, perhaps the most compelling sales story Dell Technologies has at its disposal is the breadth of integrations available between the various companies.
With data protection capabilities from SecureWorks, cloud management applications from Virtustream and various virtualisation tie-ins from VMware, Dell has the ability to offer so much more than many of its competitors and effectively solve multiple customer problems at once.
In fact, the best way I can think to describe the setup is that it’s like the 1980’s cartoon Voltron, the powers of the various companies are much stronger when combined.
It’s an extremely powerful proposition and one that, as the cross-company integrations develop further, will surely result in an increase in market share at the detriment to the likes of HP Enterprise and IBM.
Overload?
Now, having all of it’s subsidiaries in one place for a few days is of course great for Dell Technologies, but I can’t help feeling that, in its current format, Dell EMC World is now just a bit too big.
The reason the show was in Las Vegas this year was because it simply outgrew its home state of Texas. Dell World started life in 2011 and the annual conference had taken place in Austin every year since but, since the EMC acquisition, the capital of Texas has been unable to support its vast needs.
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Dell EMC World 2017 was probably the most jam-packed conference I’ve ever been to and, because there’s so much to talk about, it’s hard to find the time to deeply dive in to any one particular area. It’s great for an overview of the strategy and the whole portfolio, but it would be impossible to get around to everything.
Now it is still relatively early days, so we might see Dell split things up a bit more in the future. VMware already has VMWorld, so it’s possibly that more event segregation will take place in the coming months and years.
Or, perhaps we’ll see the introduction of a ‘Dell Technologies World?’ In my mind this would be an ideal opportunity for Michael Dell and his merry band of CEOs to come together and present a high-level report of what’s going on across the companies, without having to get into technical specifics.
In fact I might pitch it to Michael and see what he has to say.
The future’s bright
After taking stock of the last few days, the future is looking very positive for Dell EMC and Dell Technologies as a whole. The company has a clear strategy, a valuable proposition within the market and room to improve.
With an acquisition of this size there was always going to be a bedding-in period, but eight months on and the trickiest hurdles should now be cleared, which means focus can switch to things like developing integrations and streamlining operations across the board.
There is also a sense of unity across the various leadership teams. Everyone at Dell EMC World 2017 was very much singing from the same hymn sheet and seems to have bought in to the vision Michael Dell is peddling.
And it is clear that he is taking things seriously. He was a very public figure throughout the conference, making appearances at various press sessions and drinks receptions as well as leading the opening keynote, suggesting a hands-on approach that can only be good for Dell in the long term.
So, I guess all that’s left to say is good luck to all of Dell’s competitors. If the last few days is anything to go by, you’re certainly going to need it.
