Cloud provider
Bloomberg reports Dell Technologies has appointed VMware CTO Ray O’Farrell to lead the new division. VMware, part of Dell, provides much of the server technology behind new cloud deployments. Across its organisation, Dell already sells a wide selection of IoT, AI and cloud-focused products but the new business will bring everything together under one roof.
Dell’s making the sizeable investment in an effort to open new growth channels as more companies switch to the cloud. The increase in digital transformation spending anticipated over the next few years is presenting Dell with more opportunities to make money from the cloud. The new business will position Dell as a primary provider of IoT infrastructure, machine learning and analytical services.
Distributed computing focus
The shift in focus marks the evolution of Dell’s computing model towards a more distributed vision. The company has previously settled on centralised IT networks built around mainframes in datacentres. This approach is now seen to be outdated in the current era of connectivity, sensors and data.
With customers demanding edge-based architectures, with data processed closer to the source, Dell’s following suit and moving towards a modernised architecture. The result will utilise intelligence, improved networking performance and reduced latency to offer an environment suitable for prolific IoT deployment.
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“IoT is fundamentally changing how we live, how organizations operate and how the world works,” said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies.
“Dell Technologies is leading the way for our customers with a new distributed computing architecture that brings IoT and artificial intelligence together in one, interdependent ecosystem from the edge to the core to the cloud. The implications for our global society will be nothing short of profound.”
End-to-end technologies
IoT technologies being developed by Dell include “Project Nautilus,” software for the real-time processing of IoT data streams, and “Project Fire,” a management and analytics toolkit for connected devices. Other experimental systems include intelligence threat monitoring tech, deep learning dataset processors and new hardware products optimised for AI and IoT.
The new business unit responsible for the products will also collaborate with other Dell properties and external participants in the IoT ecosystem, aiming to create “complete solutions” for cloud consumers. Dell will become an end-to-end provider of cloud-based IoT technology, a single vendor for a company’s entire tech stack.
