Direct2Dell: Small & Medium Business
For the second year running, Dell was honored as a member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable, recognizing Dell's investment with minority- and women-owned suppliers during this last fiscal year. The company has spent more than $1 billion and significant time mentoring and coaching qualified small suppliers to help them successfully grow their businesses.
One such supplier, just down the road from Dell Corporate Headquarters, is Aztec Promotional Group in Austin, TX. Aztec, a Texas HUB/WBENC promotional products company, was founded in 1995 out of a dorm room at the University of Texas (sounds a bit familiar, eh?). However, after ten years the company fell into bankruptcy.
In 2005, Patti Winstanley purchased Aztec, growing it into a large production shop with six screen printing presses, an embroidery shop and a 25,000 square foot manufacturing warehouse. In just five years, Winstanley and her team grew revenue from $255K to almost $2.5M.
The driving force for this rapid, sustainable growth? Technology. In the video below Patti Winstanley, President, Aztec Promotional Group LP, shares how technology continues to provide solutions to her business challenges and how she partners with Dell Supplier Diversity.
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Recently, LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network with over 70 million members, announced the roll out of a new look for its Groups feature. eWEEK Europe described it as a "Facebook makeover." But, Mashable noted that with the new design "strong emphasis has been placed on starting conversations."
It's the same emphasis we are placing on the launch of our first LinkedIn custom group, providing business owners with a platform to network, discuss IT issues and better understand how technology can help their businesses grow and thrive. We want to help connect business professionals with trusted Dell contacts, while providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge, ideas and opportunities.
Dell is one of five companies to launch a custom LinkedIn group, but we're the first to offer video content. In addition to video, the new group offers discussion threads, white papers and articles related to technologies such as data storage, virtualization, systems management, mobility, security and cloud computing.
The group supports our global Take Your Own Path campaign, which celebrates the Dell customer as a hero and features entrepreneurial personalities such as Reid Hoffman, co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn and Warren Brown, attorney-turned-celebrity-baker and owner of CakeLove. Each month, the LinkedIn group will showcase inspiring video testimonial from Dell heroes regarding how technology has helped them achieve success in business.
Additional enhancements we're already working on include the launch of related subgroups focused on issues specific to audiences such as "women in business," C-level executives and industry verticals.
Dell's vision is to eventually have thousands of members worldwide engaging in technology-oriented conversations with each other.
Come join the group and join in the technology discussions!
Note: Below is a guest post by Cindy Gallop Founder and CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld, a radically simple web platform designed to help change the world one microaction at a time, which launched in beta with a demo at TED 2010. Cindy is speaking at the Dell-Intel Women's Entrepreneur Network in Shanghai on June 20th.
I am extremely excited about the upcoming Dell Intel Women's Entrepreneur Network 'Find Your Own Path' Summit in Shanghai, for five reasons: storytelling, trading, money, martinis, and the chance to change the default setting.
Storytelling: I am fascinated by the diverse group of female entrepreneurs that Dell has brought together, and the range of businesses and sectors that they represent. When I look at the agenda and the group on LinkedIn, I want to know everybody's story: where each woman came from, her background, what shaped her, what set her on the path to where she is today. Some of us have begun sharing our stories on LinkedIn; all of us will have the chance to in Shanghai, and to be inspired by what we hear.
Trading: with such a brilliant group of women coming together, we would all be absolute idiots if we didn't take full advantage of what that means. Every one of us has something, if not many things, to offer, in terms of skill sets and resources; every one of us has something, if not many things, she needs. Let's trade! We have the opportunity in Shanghai to match individual needs with individual resources. Let's be completely open and straightforward about both, and make sure we all go on to achieve more through having both offered and received help.
Which brings me to money: we're all hard-headed pragmatic businesswomen slogging our guts out to grow our businesses and make them profitable. I can't wait to learn from everyone else how they make their businesses make money. Particularly because, as I commented in this interview in The Faster Times, I've observed that women tend to have a particularly innovative approach to business models. And boy oh boy, are we ever going to get the chance to learn in Shanghai from some of the best!
Martinis: the Glamour Bar at M on the Bund makes some of the best in the world (ahem - I should know), which in turn led to the Glamour Bar inspiring the décor of my own apartment in Manhattan. I'll tell you the story when we gather there on the evening of Sunday June 20.
The chance to change the default setting: men, no matter how well-meaning, have no idea what it's like to live as a woman in a world where the default setting is always male. Particularly the business world. Men, imagine attending conferences year after year where all the speakers were women; where you never heard from a speaker of your own gender; where you were never presented with role models of your own gender to inspire and motivate you to want to be like them. Well, that's what women live with, year after year, because that's the default setting - the way it is.
I was asked to speak at the Clios Awards conference in NYC last week on what I think is cool, that inspires me. I cited a print ad for Comcast I happened to notice in Fortune magazine. It wasn't a particularly interesting ad, for their business products, but what caught my eye was the photograph it featured of a business team, composed of five women and three men. No song and dance about it, it wasn't targeting women specifically, the default setting was just female. I thought it was particularly cool that it wasn't a great ad - because it's when the ordinary, the everyday, the mundane and the mediocre defaults to female that we know we're really getting somewhere.
I love the fact that in Shanghai, the default setting will be female, and we'll have the chance to come together, network together, and actively work together to make that happen more often in the rest of the world.
I can't wait!
Here at Dell we have a long heritage of being direct. That includes direct communication with our customers. We have thousands of sales, support, technical and marketing team members in 130 countries talking to customers either face-to-face, over the phone or over the web.
We want to engage with our customers where they are, and with almost 500M people in Facebook, there's more than a good chance our customers are there. That includes individuals and businesses.
Despite recent backlash over Facebook's community pages and their privacy policies that led some to declare May 31 "Quit Facebook Day," we believe there is still a large audience to reach there. The results of a Mashable.com poll and number crunching from Luckie and Company indicate Quit Facebook Day's impact was minimal - .008% of their user base might have left. And, according to the latest numbers Compete.com has tracked, Facebook's reach continues to grow, probably easily compensating for any loss experienced.
We certainly aren't placing all our bets on one social network, as Jeremiah Owyang cautions companies not to do. But, like other Facebook users, we are familiar with their habit of "making adjustments on the engine as the car races around the track," as John Bell recently put it.
For quite some time we've been interacting with thousands of people around the world through Facebook, but the pages owned by Dell have not always presented a unified experience for our fans. So, we've been working to consolidate some accounts, establish internal governance and ensure we're working together to make the greatest impact for those who like our pages.
That joint effort around Dell has led to new innovations such as our Support tab that will appear on all of our official Facebook pages and allows Facebook users to request assistance from Dell Customer Support without ever leaving the social network. You can find the tab on our consumer-focused page at www.facebook.com/Dell, and now on our Dell for Business page at www.facebook.com/DellBusiness. Here's what the Dell for Business page looks like... click on the image below to go there.
This page has been created specifically to provide a new way businesses can interact with and gain insight from Dell and each other when they visit Facebook. The primary goal of the page is not to drive sales, but rather to build a relationship based on information sharing. That's not to say we won't be announcing new products or great promotions there, but gaining businesses trust is more important than generating short-term sales transactions.
So, allow me to extend a personal invitation for you all to join us in the conversation there. I will be the person behind the page, responding to your wall posts and posting our own. So, let me know what type of information would be the most helpful to you and your business!
Today Dell KACE launched the K1000 Management Appliance, the first product release since Dell acquired KACE this year. This innovative systems management appliance helps IT managers proactively manage and reduce power consumption to save time and money.
Below is a Q&A with Marty Kacin co-founder and CTO of KACE talking about why systems management is important for small and medium businesses.
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If you are interested in learning more about the power management capabilities of the Dell KACE K1000 appliance, attend the free “’Energy Eco-nomics’- Best Practices in PC Power Management” live Web event on June 10, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. PDT/1:00 p.m. EDT. To register, go to http://www.kace.com/resources/energy-economics .
Recently, my team had the pleasure of visiting the offices of PensionsFirst Analytics LLP, which has enjoyed great success with a web-based solution called PFaroe. It was interesting to learn the way this young company has already transformed the approach of many firms to pensions risk. Listening to the interviews, you really thought: "Wow, these guys are really committed to their goal." Their mission: to revolutionize the way risk is measured and managed in the defined benefit ("DB") pensions industry by providing advanced analytical and advisory services to DB managers.
Some of the IT challenges they were facing included:
- Build a datacenter from scratch
- Get the PFaroe production environment up and running in 12 weeks
- Have a duplicate infrastructure for disaster recovery
The company worked closely with Dell Consulting Services, which set up a proof of concept (POC) at its Solutions Innovation Centre in Limerick to look at possible configurations. This was followed by workshops on virtualization and a series of meetings to finalize the environments' design. Then, as per schedule, the company gained two identical, platforms based on virtualized Dell PowerEdge servers and Dell EqualLogic storage.
Hear more from Pensions First and how they developed their enterprise-level platform from the ground up.
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It was great to hear the customer say that the PFaroe infrastructure is delivering exactly what they need. The company is keeping down costs - a must for all young businesses - thanks to its energy-efficient solutions, and the PFaroe databases are performing well through an impressive 10 gigabyte connection to the storage. On top of this, the customer has peace of mind because every element of the solution comes with a high level of protection from Dell ProSupport for IT.
I came away from the video shoot incredibly impressed with the commitment of everyone involved. Read more about Pensions First here.
Following the successful launch of eight new monochrome printers in March, we’re excited today to introduce the Dell 1133 monochrome multifunction printer. Initially available through our channel partners, this budget-friendly printer is ideal for the home office or small business, offering exceptional long-term value with the ability to print, scan and copy. In fact, at $149, it’s our lowest priced multifunction laser printer.
Reliable and easy-to-use, the 1133 comes with all the key features customers value including:
- Budget Friendly – the Dell 1133 is priced at US$149 with a cost-per-page (CPP) as low as 3.5 cents; no additional accessories, except paper, are needed as it has big paper input tray and on-board memory.
- Superb Reliability and Performance – the Dell 1133 has a print and copy speed up to 23 pages-per-minute (PPM) (Letter) and 22ppm (A4), the capability of handling up to 12K pages per month (max.), a resolution of 1200dpi, and minimal maintenance and user interference is needed with the Dell 2.5K high capacity toner cartridge and a standard 250-sheet paper input tray.
- Exceptional Ease of Use – the Dell 1133 has simple buttons for control, easy toner maintenance through Dell Toner Management System including alerts when toner is low to help streamline the process of ordering replacement toner.
- Industry-leading Warranty – the 1133 comes with Dell’s standard 1-Year Limited Hardware Warranty and 1-Year Next-Business-Day Advance Exchange Service; customers can protect their investment even longer with optional warranty and service extensions up to 5 years total.
For more photos of the new printer, check out the set on Flickr. And of course, keep your eye on this space for more exciting Dell printer news!
Several months ago, the IT staff at Atrium Underwriting Group Limited, a leading specialist insurer at Lloyd’s of London, spent their weekends and evenings updating applications to avoid disrupting the working day. Atrium’s IT systems manager, George Stylli, needed to find a better way to manage patching across the organization, from application updates through to operating system patches and the rollout of new desktop images.
Systems managers are increasingly forced to support multiple technologies and systems throughout the business and work on a myriad of IT functions. Many organizations do not have a process in place for patch management and this can result in huge amounts of time being spent on tasks which can be automated.
George looked to KACE because of the appliance-based approach to management to simplify and create more time for IT teams to look at ways of being innovative. The With the KACE management appliance, Atrium can deploy applications or send out patches from a central point in minutes, compared to the hours of staff time that would otherwise be consumed in a roll-out.
Following the deployment, Atrium has saved hundreds of hours of staff time and achieved payback within six months. IT staff no longer have to spend their weekends and evenings updating applications to avoid disrupting the working day, and are able to spend their time on tasks that provide more value back to the business.
At Atrium, the Dell KACE appliances have paid for themselves many times over - they make managing the IT infrastructure easier, while the team can concentrate on delivering more value to the business.
As I’m sure you’ve read, last Friday, April 30 was the official opening for World Expo 2010, the grand international event that aims to promote the exchange of ideas and development of the world economy, culture, science and technology. Expecting 70+ million visitors, the overall theme of the expo is Better City, Better Life. The World Expo has a 150-year history of highlighting global economics, science and technology, and the Chinese see this as an opportunity to call on the international community to discuss future policy making, urban strategies and sustainable development.
I believe strongly that Dell is a company where each and every employee lives to the promise and delivers against the needs and wants of each and every customer over and over again, generating good will and an emotional bond. In that spirit, Dell (along with American Airlines, Intel, Microsoft and several other companies) built on the World Expo theme to create a USA National Pavilion experience focused on the idea of “Rise to the Challenge.” This topic meshes perfectly with Dell’s own commitment to environmental stewardship and empowering women entrepreneurs globally. As the exclusive computer sponsor of the USA National Pavilion, we’ve provided the laptops, desktops, printers and servers to power the technology for the space. Inside the pavilion, our interactive display on energy-efficient, sustainable technology and packaging showcases our efforts to make “being green” easy and cost-effective for our customers.
Also at the World Expo, Dell, Intel and Bloomberg Link are jointly sponsoring The Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network on June 20-22. Dell decided to host an event at the World Expo this year because we constantly look for opportunities to elevate and amplify the focus on woman entrepreneurs both locally and globally. This event will bring together women in the business world to create and nurture a peer group of some of the world’s most interesting and innovative female entrepreneurs, establishing a network to exchange ideas on how IT helps drive successful businesses.
With the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network, we are taking our Take Your Own Path (TYOP) campaign to the next level and developing even deeper relationships with customers by building social equity and driving inspiring conversations around top industry topics. Over the past year, our award-winning campaign has been seen by 1 in 5 small and medium businesses, contributed to double-digit growth in consideration and is connecting us even more with our customers on a global scale. This one-of-a-kind, two-day event concentrates on Taking Your Own Path Through Global Tech Strategies, celebrating the impact that women-owned businesses have on the economy.
If you will be at the World Expo, be sure to stop by the USA National Pavilion. But, even if you won’t be able to make the expo, there are plenty of ways to share in the experience. Feel free to join the online conversations about the World Expo (#worldexpo) and the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network on Twitter (#DWEN) and stay tuned to Direct2Dell for more information.
At the Service Desk and IT Support Show this week, the first show attended as part of Dell, one of the most common questions from people was about getting the most out of your IT service desk. My response to this depends on how far developed the customer is around their IT.
For some companies, ITIL seems like a formidable undertaking and one where they struggle to see the value. This is where “practical ITIL” comes in. Practical ITIL involves knowing where the biggest benefits from ITIL can be derived, and where the ‘quickest wins’ are. The aim for this is to move from a reactive help-desk over to being more proactive, delivering services that follow best practice as well as speeding up problem management and incident resolution.
This practical ITIL approach is based on five key points:
- Implementing a configuration management database (CMDB) - this is at the heart of any ITIL programme. Getting this right is important, as everything else flows from this central point; it also makes incident response faster, as agents have all the data they need at their fingertips.
- Keeping records up to date automatically - Following on from the CMDB, activities such as configuration management and change management can be made simpler - proactively keeping up with any alterations to the IT infrastructure is essential.
- Moving from a help-desk to a service desk - the distinction here is important, because this is all about offering more value back to the business. The investment in a service desk approach ultimately offers more value back to the organisation than the equivalent spent on a “help-desk only” approach.
- Supporting future business IT initiatives - larger projects such as rolling out patches, new application versions or new OSes require a thorough overview of what exists on the network, and what condition it is in. With a CMDB, these infrastructure projects can be tracked automatically and issues resolved before they become real problems to the organisation.
- Managing workflows around user problems - this involves standardising how the service desk deals with problems in the first place. For some companies, this is just a process of setting down the processes that exist in stone, while for others it means setting these up from scratch.
The practical ITIL approach covers some critical areas of IT, but also makes it easier to translate these IT-focused ideas into real business results.
