Dell ups the ante on helping customers unlock innovation for the virtual era - from the desktop to the data centre to the cloud

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On the cusp of Dell World 2011, Dell today announced continued customer and partner momentum for its enterprise and end-point solutions, as well as a broad array of new products and services designed to help customers unlock innovation.

Organisations today face new and unique challenges and unprecedented opportunities defined by the virtual era, which has accelerated the move to dynamic data centre environments and cloud computing architectures. Dell is one of the only companies in the world that can help customers navigate this broad range of IT needs - from the end-point to the data centre - and deliver the right solutions to meet businesses' IT requirements today, and with confidence for the future.

“Earlier this year, we announced a $1 billion investment commitment to customers, extending the company's global reach into data centre, mobile and cloud environments,” said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, Dell. “Now, more than ever, these investments are delivering value to customers who demand an end-to-end solutions provider to unlock innovation across their organisations. We're committed to continuing to listen to our customers and deliver solutions that truly address the problems they are trying to solve each day.”

Dell helps customers free critical IT spend from maintenance to innovation by offering open, capable and affordable solutions that provide CIOs with the flexibility to invest in technologies that address today's business needs and deliver the peace of mind to accommodate tomorrow's unknown requirements. Today's series of announcements builds on the $1 billion investment commitment Dell made to its customers earlier this year, and extends the company's reach into data centre and cloud environments.

IT organisations are under immense pressure to improve flexibility and scalability of their data centres and ensure employees can access the applications and information they need, no matter location, time or device. Dell has an industry-leading position in data centre technologies - the number one worldwide position in iSCSI SAN storage, for the first half of 2011, Dell was number one in x86 server shipments in North America and the addition of award-winning Dell Force10 networking capabilities - and today's series of announcements extends this position. Dell is also a leader in data centre energy efficiency, and recently announced that within a five-year time frame, server performance per watt improved 31-times on its PowerEdge servers.

Dell is unveiling new product enhancements to its Virtual Integrated System (VIS) Architecture to help customers drive enterprise efficiency. VIS extends the benefits of virtualisation by reducing the tools, tasks and time required for daily data centre activities, automating and increasing the efficiency of an organisation's entire IT infrastructure. And since it's built on an open architecture, VIS works with a customer's existing hardware and software investments. New products available today include:

* Integrating acquired technology into Dell vStartconfigurations - Dell vStart is a virtualisation solution that allows customers to easily build out virtual infrastructures. The solutions are pre-sized, pre-racked, pre-wired and pre-tested to ease deployment concerns. vStart offerings come in specific configurations that allow organisations to choose the size of their virtualisation instance. Dell today announced that Dell Compellent storage and Dell Force10 networking capabilities will be made available in vStart configurations in 2012.

* Dell Advanced Infrastructure Manager (AIM) Integration - Dell has certified its Dell AIM technology to work with Microsoft System Centre Orchestrator and BMC Atrium Orchestrator, in addition to its current support for VMware ESX servers and VMware vCenter Server.

* VIS Creator - Dell today released a new version of VIS Creator, which enables businesses to provision extra compute resources from public cloud facilities. VIS Creator's delivery and management capabilities now extend to physical workloads and its governance capacity to the cloud, giving enterprises the same control over their public cloud resources as they do for the private cloud.

As the amount of data maintained by organisations today continues to rise at unprecedented rates, Dell remains focused on delivering technologies that enable easier management of data, while increasing efficiency and lowering the total cost for storage.

New compression and de-duplication capabilities, obtained through the Ocarina Networks acquisition, play significant roles in Dell's Fluid Data Architecture, and enable customers to better manage and archive meaningful amounts of data with potential cost savings.

Dell today announced availability of its first compression capabilities for the Dell DX Object Storage Platform with additional compression and de-duplication solutions for backup and recovery storage expected early next year:

* Dell DX6000G Storage Compression Node - New data storage compression capabilities help customers drastically reduce data file sizes and the footprint of archival and cloud infrastructure storage. Utilising industry-leading technology from the Ocarina Networks acquisition, Dell can provide new levels of data size reduction on its DX Object Storage Platform, compressing stored data up to 90%, depending on file types. With new DX Storage Compression Software, customers can free up space at local and remote sites to significantly reduce their budgets for storing infrequently accessed data. The Dell DX6000G Storage Compression Node will be available on 18 October.

Dell is making substantial investments in its cloud computing infrastructure and services to help customers more quickly realise the benefits of private, public and hybrid cloud environments, and to deploy these. Dell is introducing:

* New data centres - Dell announced the opening of two data centres to deliver on its promise of cloud computing. Dell announced the opening of its first data centre in London where Unified Clinical Archiving will be one of the first vertical solutions supported by the data centre.

In addition, the company will open a Quincy, Washington, facility in the United States, which is anticipated to become one of the world's most efficient and environmentally responsible data centres by using Dell's extensive knowledge of large-scale data centre build-outs captured through its Data Centre Solutions (DCS) business.

* Since April 2011, Dell has opened nine Solution Centers in all three major geographies, with three more to follow in the next six months. Demand for meetings at the solutions centres has exceeded expectations, and customers and partners are already realising efficiency gains through accessibility to Dell expertise.

The client business represents Dell's heritage, and the company is more committed than ever to investing and supporting customers' diverse computing needs.

IDC expects worldwide total commercial PC shipments to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% through 2015. Dell understands customers' desires to match trends such as consumerisation and desktop virtualisation with the current realities of endpoint security and management.

To answer these needs, Dell delivers solutions that span technology usage and interaction, tailored services and an overall experience that combines professional tools with consumer appeal. Dell is uniquely positioned to address these concerns and help customers maximise productivity for end-users without sacrificing the control, efficiency and cost savings that IT managers need.

Dell introduced a series of new solutions and services including:

* Dell Desktop Virtualisation Solutions - Dell today announced availability of Virtual Desktop as a service, the cloud-based delivery model for the Dell Desktop Virtualisation Solutions (DVS) portfolio.

The new solution brings enterprise computing to nearly any end-user computing device, anytime, anywhere a network is available - improving employee productivity, while reducing IT management complexity. Virtual Desktop as a service is operated and maintained via the Dell Cloud from highly secure Dell data centres. IT organisations can enjoy the benefits of a fully managed virtual desktop without sacrificing control and security. New employee and contractor desktops can be quickly provisioned or de-provisioned using new or existing clients to become productive sooner. Virtual Desktop as a service will be available initially in the United States, with forthcoming availability in selected European countries.

* Dell Data Protection | Encryption- End-user devices present one of the greatest data security obstacles to organisations looking for ways to decrease risk associated with lost, stolen or compromised devices and external media. To address these concerns, Dell today added new offerings to its Dell Data Protection | Encryption portfolio that provides organisations with simple, comprehensive and flexible encryption solutions.

The new encryption protection features include Full Volume Encryption with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 Level 3 certification for customers who require military-grade security, one of the highest certifications commercially available for full disk encryption solutions, and Microsoft BitLocker Manager.

These solutions round out the portfolio that also includes detachable storage protection with External Media Edition and intelligent system drive protection for Microsoft Windows with Data-Centric Encryption.

* Dell KACE Global Expansion - Dell is expanding the availability of its rapidly growing line of Dell KACE Systems Management Appliances in EMEA and APJ. Dell KACE's comprehensive and affordable systems management solutions have rapidly gained market share in North America and English-speaking countries around the world. Dell is now making the easy-use appliances available in select countries overseas in German, French, Chinese, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese. Designed to save IT administrators time and money, the appliances help ensure organisations can easily deploy and manage remote client systems globally.

As a global solutions provider with more than 40 000 services professionals and more than 95 000 commercial channel partners, Dell offers flexible engagement models for delivering end-to-end technology solutions. As part of this growing momentum, Dell today announced that Dell Force10 networking will be added to its channel network in EMEA before the end of the year. Dell Force10 availability complements the addition of Dell Compellent and Dell KACE, and creates a significant advantage for resellers looking for a long-term strategic partner.

Dell has recently strengthened its Dell PartnerDirect program to provide increased rewards for certification and training, including new rebates for Premier partners, expanded deal registration terms, financial incentives and marketing and technical assistance.

Quotes:

“Through organic investments and strategic acquisitions, Dell has dramatically reshaped itself to be a true enterprise solutions and services organisation from the end-point to the data centre,” said Matt Eastwood, group vice-president and GM, IDC.

“The company has taken consistent and pragmatic steps to help customers solve data centre, mobility and cloud computing challenges with a modern architecture. This will serve Dell and its customers well as they look for innovative new technology approaches to drive competitive advantage over the long term.”

Additional information:
* Dell World
* Dell World on Twitter (Dell World hashtag #DellWorld)
* Dell Virtual Integrated System
* Dell vStart