Dell's new business systems focus on needs of "consumerized" companies
Summary: Dell is announcing a major refresh of its business computing systems today with 24 new notebooks, desktops, tablets and workstation computers - and the company said there's even more in the works for enterprise customers later in the year. Among them is a 10-inch tablet computer running MIcrosoft's Windows 7, expected to launch later this year.
Dell is announcing a major refresh of its business computing systems today with 24 new notebooks, desktops, tablets and workstation computers - and the company said there's even more in the works for enterprise customers later in the year. Among them is a 10-inch tablet computer running MIcrosoft's Windows 7, expected to launch later this year.
I spoke this week wiith Paul D’Arcy, the executive director of marketing for Dell’s Large Enterprise business, who explained that one of the primary drivers of the fresh engineering behind these products was the consumerization of the workplace.
Granted, that concept isn't new. For some time, employees have been coming into the workplace either asking for a specific type of mobile device or computer system, resisting the company-issued Blackberry and insisting on access to the company's network for their home computers or personal laptops.
This becomes really important when college grads start hitting the workforce because so today's graduates have grown up in an world of advanced technology, one where they can Facebook or Tweet or even check their email from pretty much any device.
To walk into a workplace and be seated in front of a desktop computer running Windows XP that has partial Web access and be handed a Blackberry that's only to be used for corporate email is like taking two steps backward.
That's a lot of pressure for IT to be loosening up the rules.
And that's what Dell is trying to address through both hardware and software, D'Arcy said. The new Latitude laptops, for example, come with enhanced security features such as data protection and remote data wipe functionality - tools that give the user the freedom to use the computer's full range of capabilities but also gives the IT folks the peace of mind that they still have control of the company's data.
Likewise, the company - utilizing the tools it picked up with last year's acquisition of KACE, which makes systems management appliances - is helping customers to automate time-consuming manual IT tasks. That's everything from initial computer deployment. remote software distribution, patch management and even retirement.
A number of the systems will be available immediately, while pricing and availability information for others will be released in the coming weeks.
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
DULL
RE: Dell's new business systems focus on needs of
Businesses generally don't care about looks. As long it works, they don't care if it's beautiful or not. Quality is up for debate because I've been using two Dell laptops with not much issue.
RE: Dell's new business systems focus on needs of
vangeaux
Business Computers
Dell makes crap, then refuses to fix them
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/projectfailures/dell-lawsuit-pattern-of-deceit/10165
Dells whole business model is based on buying the absolute cheapest components, throwing windows on it, then trying to make pennies in profit. They sell commodity items, just like HP, PC's with somebody elses OS it. They can't afford R&D, commodity manufacturers make their money by hopefully selling cheap enough to win over customers.
In their lawsuit, Dell tried to blame the end user for subjecting the computers to 'tough mathematical equations' that caused them to fail, instead of manning upnto the defective capacitors that plagued their computers.
But lemmings that use Dells at work will continue to use them, even with their terrible (outsourced) support.
When those bad capacitors made their way into a lot of different computers, other companies replaced users motherboards free of charge, Dell hid the problem, who do you want to buy a computer from?
You can't even get the O/S and tools on CD-DVD!
Cheaply made and inferior, IMHO.
When you buy their systems, there is no option to have an original OS DVD. You can't even buy one. Nuts!
Re: "Consumerized" Employees???
RE: Dell's new business systems focus on needs of
Yeah! You tell 'em, by cracky!
Lazy, greedy, stupid people shouldn't even have a job! Imagine, expecting your job to enhance your life. Who do people think they are, anyway?
Give 'em an abacus, I say, and if they make a million in the first quarter, reward 'em with a calculator. That's how I was trained.
RE: Dell's new business systems focus on needs of
Sorry. I don't buy that... I know of an "Old School" tech company that still thinks that way but struggles to close deals with some very talented job candidates, who are being lured away by more progressive-thinking companies...
A smart company should definitely be listening to the "whims" of its employees. It doesn't mean they have to act on those whims - but they should be aware of what the truly talented employees are asking for.