Evolve digitally or go out of business: Michael Dell

Las Vegas - The company that Michael Dell started with $1,000 in his dorm room 35 years ago, had $91 billion in revenues last year.

The rate of change in the tech industry is not slowing down and companies need to constantly keep re-inventing themselves: This was the key message from Dell Technologies World 2019 in Las Vegas - the annual flagship event hosted by Dell Technologies that attracted more than 15,000 IT and media professionals from 122 countries. The event held from April 29 to May 2 also marked the company's 35^thbirth anniversary, where they looked back at their growth and learnings in the last three and a half decades. The company that Michael Dell started with $1,000 in his dorm room, had $91 billion in revenues last year. 
"It's a big industry at $3.5 trillion and we are $91 billion, which is only 3% of that market. So there's 97% that we haven't covered yet. I think one of the really interesting areas is in virtualising the network. This is something we are very excited about and to be able to create a multi-cloud future, you need to virtualise the network," Michael Dell, CEO and Chairman of Dell Technologies told reporters on Wednesday.
"Digital transformation is a race with no finish line. It's ongoing. At Dell technologies, we have more than 450 projects across all our services. If we didn't do these things, we would be out of business," he added. "One of the proudest moments for me at Dell Technologies is when I am standing on the stage with all the logos behind me of the customers whose trust we have earned."
One of the key announcements made during the event include a partnership between Dell Technologies and Microsoft to help accelerate digital transformations. Through this collaboration, the companies would deliver a fully native, supported, and certified VMware cloud infrastructure on Microsoft Azure. Dell Technologies also introduced Unified Workspace that would integrate solutions across Dell devices and services, VMware and Secureworks to help businesses ease major end-user computing pain points and focus on transformative initiatives.
"Our vision brings together customers' entire infrastructure, from hardware to software to services, from the edge to the core to the cloud," the tech legend flaunted when asked about his future plan for the company. "We are certainly not limiting the growth in any market. The good news is that we created much broader solutions with EMC, VMWare and Dell. It continues to evolve. You have to evolve and change what you're doing to stay relevant. I do think we are significantly differentiated relative to our competitors with the VMWare Cloud Foundation, Dell Technologies Cloud and what we are doing with VXRail. So there's a lot of opportunity. We are making incredibly powerful tools with AI and becoming more powerful." 
UAE 'ripe for investment'
Speaking with Khaleej Times about the company's performance in the Middle East, Dell said, "We have invested where there's opportunity and I think EMEA region has been a great performer. We have fantastic capabilities, great teams, resources, and our customers have responded. It has also happened in other regions. We have been doing it around the world."
Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President of Middle East, Turkey and Africa region said, "In my region, we have seen a growth of double digits and have acquired more market share. In the storage category, we have close to 50% in market share. We have hired more than 900 people in the last 12 months, from January 2018 till March 2019."
Highlighting the tech giant's investments in the UAE, Amin told Khaleej Times, "We aim at bridging the skills gap in the technology sector and supporting the youth in unlocking their potential to meet the challenges of the future in this rapidly evolving economy. Last year, we inked a deal with the UAE's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence to provide opportunities for Emirati youth in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). As part of the partnership, Dell promised to train 500 Emirati students under a specialised AI programme, supervised by an executive team. We also recently reached a deal with Abu Dhabi Ports to provide IT solutions. We are investing a lot in the UAE."
He added, "Globally, if you look at how the world is changing, the digital economy by 2030 will be around 15% of the GDP. Many emerging markets in my region, like the UAE, realise if we are not part of the future of the digital economy, we will be left behind. The leaders of the META countries know they have to take their country from just emerging to the future of digital economy. I believe that the GDP growth, IT spending and IT spending per capital can really improve in the next few years in our region. The best country spending in IT in the META region is the UAE, at slightly more than $40 per head, while in the mature countries such as USA, Canada and Europe, it's more than $110. We are working hard to achieve that in our region."
As UAE continues to invest heavily on digital transformation and smart government initiatives, the country is poised to become one of the most vibrant tech markets in the region and the world. Fady Richmany, Senior Director and General Manager (UAE) at Dell Technologies, said "UAE has always been a pioneer in the META region and it is ranked among the top 10 countries in the world for its digital readiness. We massively grew in healthcare and education in the region, and in the UAE in particular. We also did well in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. We outgrew ourselves in certain sectors where we weren't traditionally very strong, such as retail, healthcare and energy."
Abu Dhabi Ports, Dell ink deal
On the sidelines of the event, Dell Technologies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abu Dhabi Ports, that will see the organisations combine their expertise in maritime and IT to develop technology-based concepts, solutions and services specifically for the maritime industry. 
Abdullah Al Hameli, Executive Vice President, Corporate Support at Abu Dhabi Ports, said, "Smart technologies are being applied throughout the maritime sector - from blockchain technology, which is used to deliver real-time, secure access to shipping documents throughout the supply chain, to big data being used to drive automation and cloud connectivity allowing for communication between ports. Our partnership with Dell will enable us to further explore the potential of these technologies and build efficiencies across our business units through knowledge sharing and consulting exercises."
Over the past few years, Abu Dhabi Ports has made significant strides in harnessing innovative digital solutions for trade and port communities. In 2018, it launched Silsal, a blockchain-based solution aimed at streamlining trade flows and supply chains. This new strategic partnership will see an exchange of industry best practices and expertise needed to develop truly integrated smart ports that can better serve the customers and other stakeholders of Abu Dhabi Ports, Hameli said.
nilanjana@khaleejtimes.com