The good folks from Dell reached out to me recently to let me know about the newest happenings in their desktop virtualization efforts including new thin client devices and a new version of their Dell Virtual Labs 2.0. In the end, Dell is offering its own hardware devices and virtualization technology offered by others including Citrix, Microsoft and VMware. Dell is claiming that its secret sauce is their stringent testing and the fact that they’re offering balanced configurations that live up to the name Dell.
I couldn’t help myself. I recommended that they look up the words “Kusnetzky Coffee Keyboard” and follow the thread for “The Old Coffee in the Keyboard Trick”. I suggested that if they did a poll, they just might be surprised what they find out about Dell’s image out there in the world. I hear stories about their remote support staff all of the time.
Here’s a quick summary of the conversation:
- Dell is now offering some interesting, competitive thin client devices along with their well-known family of laptops and desktop systems
- Dell is working with its partners; Citrix, Microsoft and VMware; to offer configurations based upon the use of their access, application and processing virtualization products
- Dell has developed a Lab Manager that is designed to help academic environments use virtualization to create more agile, reliable and manageable teaching labs.
My conclusion is that Dell is offering competitive offerings to those offered by Wyse, HP and others. They’re hoping that their price/performance ratios combined with their testing processes will create a winning solution in the eyes of the customer.
