Tag: Dell

Dell grabs 1st place in notebook education

Posted on August 13, 2013 by - News

Michael DellDell has been approved under all three National Desktop and Notebook Agreement framework lots, meaning the company will once again be able to sell its  gear to consortia-affiliated universities and colleges.

Dell is now certified in six National Framework Agreements for universities, further education, and the UK’s Research Council, the company points out.

NDNA is a significant procurement path for selling products to the higher education sector, with the majority of institutions subscribing to the framework.

The company can provide desktops, notebooks, and services, marking an approximate combined value of roughly £310 million for the up to four years of the framework.

Dell grabbed first place in the notebook lot, meaning the consortia can contract Dell without bids from the competition.

The company cited its existing relationships with universities like Aberdeen, Cambridge, and UCL, and that it has supplied over 40 percent of UK unis with desktops or notebooks.

If universities so want, they can buy Dell kit without lengthy tender processes, as well as consistent pricing across desktops, workstations, thin clients, services, and tablet hardware – though the latter may not be particularly appealing to date. Dell also has a technical pre- and post- sales team dedicated to higher education.

Director for education at Dell UK, Kenneth Harley, said that IT is a “vital component” for education institutions to maintain their competitiveness and attract top students. “To do this, the provision of a personalised learning experience supported by best in class, affordable IT is crucial,” Harley said.

Lenovo gains on Apple – report

Posted on August 7, 2013 by - News

pc-sales-slumpMore good news for Lenovo. According to a company called Canalys, Apple has lost ground to Lenovo on the back of lacklustre iPad sales in Q2.

It is worth noting that Canalys includes tablets in its quarterly PC market reports. Therefore it found that Android now has a 17 percent share in the PC market.

Although tablet sales appear to be slowing down while some people wait for new fruity toys “Designed in California”, Canalys reckons tablets will outsell notebooks by the fourth quarter of 2013. This is in line with previous reports from other research firms.

PC shipments in EMEA fell  year-on-year in Q2, the first decline after two successive quarters of double-digit growth. Western Europe was down 10 percent, while Central and Eastern Europe took a three  percent plunge.

canalys-PCreport-Q213

Demand for smartphones and tablets is increasing around the world. However, faced by a changing industry, channel partners are exercising caution when planning and placing orders. Apple kept the lead in Q2, with 18.6 million units shipped and a 17.1 percent market share. However, it lost two percent from Q2 2012. Lenovo upped its share to 12.9 percent and shipped 14.1 million units. HP lost share and volume and it’s in third spot with 12.7 million units and an 11.6 percent share.

It should be noted that desktop and notebook shipments accounted for about 20 percent of Apple’s total shipments. Samsung also made its way into the top five, with 10.8 million units and a 9.9 percent share, but, like Apple, most of its shipments were tablets, not proper PCs.

Canalys found that most vendors are seeing increased tablet volumes, but that won’t help traditional PC outfits. Volumes are one thing, but most tablets coming out of Lenovo, HP and the rest of the PC gang are on the cheap side, with relatively low ASPs.

Dell vote deal could get Dell Dell

Posted on August 2, 2013 by - News

dellsigTinbox supremo Michael Dell and buyout partner Silver Lake may well be reaching a deal with Dell’s special board committee to increase the price they’d pay – as long as the voting rules are tinkered with to make sure they win.

People familiar with the matter told the WSJ that Dell’s new deal isn’t done yet but if it were to go through, the per-share price would be bumped up from $13.65 to $13.75, as well as include a special dividend for shareholders.

The vote is set for today. But if Dell and Silver Lake successfully convince the committee to modify the voting rules, the shareholder vote could be staggered by as long as one month.

According to the WSJ, the change to voting rules would make it so only shares that are actually voted count. As it stands, abstentions count as a “no”.

It is possible with a change to the rules the deal could well pass. But it will upset top shareholders such as Carl Icahn, himself gunning for control over Dell, who started dragging Dell through the courts as of yesterday about the change.

All-in-one PC shipments to see strong growth

Posted on July 25, 2013 by - News, Products

dell-aioAlthough the PC industry has fallen on hard times, there are some notable exceptions and the market for all-in-one (AIO) PCs is one of them. Shipments of AIOs are expected to grow by 17.3 percent year-on-year.

All-in-ones are hardly a new concept, they have been around for years and Apple has already made a killing with the stylish and pricey iMac series.

However, in recent years PC vendors have also joined the market, with mixed results. Apple’s iMac still leads the way, but other brands should see 4.9 percent growth, according to Digitimes Research.

Although it is doing well in just about every other market segment, Lenovo is expected to experience a small drop in shipments. HP will see a bit of growth, but Dell and Sony should see strong gains. Interestingly, all big players are expected to increase their market share, which means they are pushing small vendors out of the market. This is not surprising, as AIOs tend to be quite a bit more difficult to design and produce than regular PC boxes, hence big brands with plenty of resources are at an advantage.

Quanta and Wistron should remain the leading manufacturers of AIOs, with shipments of seven and three million units respectively. Pegatorn and TPV Inventa should ship upwards of two million units each.

The numbers reveal that the market is still relatively small, but it seems to have a lot of potential. AIOs boast a number of advantages over regular PCs. Most of them use mobile chips and drives, which means they are a lot more efficient than traditional PCs. They also take up a lot less room and since they don’t have a bundle of dusty cables sticking out of them, they tend to look sleek and modern. Lower electric bills and less real estate taken up by ugly hardware are the most obvious selling point.

There are a few downsides though. Mobile components cost a bit more than the usual desktop bits and pieces, which means AIOs tend to have a lot higher bill of material. They are harder to service and  many components cannot be upgraded at all. However, the PC is already very mature so frequent upgrades are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Over the past decade millions of users migrated from desktops to notebooks, so they should be used to a lack of upgradeability by now.

Besides, vendors don’t mind planned obsolescence – they thrive on it. On the other hand, if AIOs really take off, they could have an impact on a number of component makers, ranging from AIBs to peddlers of various peripherals and monitors.

EMEA PC sales slump by 22 percent

Posted on July 19, 2013 by - News

pc-sales-slumpPC shipments in Europe are down again. New figures fresh out of the International Data Corporation (IDC) show that second-quarter PC shipments in the EMEA region were down 22.2 percent compared to the same quarter last year. 

EMEA PC shipments last quarter reached 19.6 million units and portable PCs got the worst of it, with a 26-percent drop and shipments of 12.4 million units. Desktops fared a bit better, with shipments of 7.2 million units, down 14.6 percent. 

In Western Europe shipments declined by 21.2% year-on-year. Britain did rather well, all things considered, as it was down just 14%. Germany slowed down 18.7%, while France remained the softest with a 20.9% drop. 

However, let’s not forget about Southern Europe – PC shipments in Spain dropped 43.7 percent and with no end to Spain’s economic woes in sight, the trend is likely to continue. Central Europe was down 27 percent, while the Middle East and Africa slumped 18 percent. Although Middle Eastern economies and Turkey are doing rather well, political instability and economic uncertainty are taking their toll. 

“The evolution of form factors and the change in perception of mobile computing to ‘always on and always connected’ devices, development of social networks and Internet infrastructure, are all changing consumer behaviour impacting the way PCs are utilized,” said Maciej Gornicki, senior research analyst, IDC EMEA Personal Computing. “While Windows-based hybrid devices, convertible or ultraslim notebooks with touch capabilities generate a clear interest, sales remain weak.”

Gornicki noted that one of the main inhibitors to growth in new form factors remains price, but IDC expects prices to tumble in time for the holiday season and sales of ultraslim notebooks should pick up in the fourth quarter and beyond. 

It is also worth noting that notebook sales figures include mini notebooks, or netbooks, which are dying out. Meanwhile desktop sales don’t appear to be slowing down at the same rate as portable PC sales, as they can’t be cannibalized by tablets. Besides, desktops are a staple for small businesses and corporate users who can’t always hold off purchases like consumers.

Although the decline was significant, some vendors still managed to stay in the black. Lenovo’s shipments grew 19 percent year-on-year, making it the only big brand to see any growth. Lenovo ranked second, with 2.62 million PCs shipped. HP is still the EMEA market leader with shipments of 3.72 million units, but unlike Lenovo its shipments were down 23.2 percent compared to a year ago. As a result there was no big change in HP’s market share, which currently stands at 19 percent, down from 19.2 percent. However, Lenovo’s share increased from 8.7 percent in Q2 2012 to 13.4 percent last quarter. 

Acer ranked third with 2.26 million units, but it also suffered a massive 42.2 percent drop in shipments and saw its market share tumble from 15.5 percent to 11.5 percent. Dell’s shipments dropped 9 percent, but it actually managed to grow its market share to 10.7 percent, up from 9.1 last year. Asus also suffered a slump, with 1.69 million shipped boxes, down 38.5 percent.

Dell unites channel teams

Posted on July 10, 2013 by - Moving People, News

Dell logoDell has reshuffled two channel teams, combining them into one under Bob Skelley, executive director of Dell’s Global Certified Partner Programme.

Dell’s global channel marketing exec director Kathy Schneider is also leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.

Skelley will take over Schneider’s channel marketing team, but at the same time he will retain his responsibilities, CRN reports. Dell will combine Skelley’s division and Schneider’s team to form a single Global Channel Programs and Partner Enablement group.

“There was always a lot of synergy between our two teams,” Skelley said, speaking like an executive. “Now we are all under one umbrella and that’s really going to help on execution”.

Channel partners shouldn’t experience any changes due to the reshuffle. Dell said it wouldn’t cut staff or budgets as a result of the consolidation and its strategy will remain the same.

Skelley did not wish to comment on new channel programmes, saying it is still too early to talk about them.

Dell wants to get into wearable computing

Posted on July 4, 2013 by - News

dellTroubled PC seller Dell is planning to pin its hopes on a much mooted craze in wearable computing.

Already it has seen its rivals such as Google, Apple and Samsung talk about wearable computing being the next big thing and is hoping to have a stab at it early..

Sam Burd, Dell’s global vice-president of personal computing, told the Guardian  that Dell was  “exploring ideas in that space”.

He said that there were challenges in cost, and how to make it a really good experience.  But it was expected that computers were getting smaller and having a watch on your wrist was “pretty interesting, pretty appealing.”

CEO Michael Dell is  preparing to take the company private in a $24 billion leveraged buyout as the PC market, which made him a household name, begins to shrink in importance.  However it appears that the company is also seeking new sources of income.

Burd  said that over the next five years devices and form factors to continue to change. There will still be a need for ‘static’ computing on desktops, but there will be a real need for mobile devices.

“There’s a lot of discussion about how that fits into wearable devices like we’ve seen with Google Glass and watches. We’re looking at a world of lots of connected devices,” he said.

Burd did not see any magic new form factor arriving like the tablet did.  But the number of computing devices per person is exploding.

Dell has not announced any actual products in the wearable market but was looking at the technology, Burd said.

 

Notebook shipments hit new low

Posted on June 28, 2013 by - News

ancient-laptopContract manufacturers of notebooks had one of their worst quarters on record in Q1. According to IHS, they suffered a worse than expected quarter, with shipments to Apple and HP tumbling to the lowest level in three years.

Global shipments from ODMs in the first quarter totalled 33.2 million units, down 17 percent from 40.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The downturn was four to five percentage points than what IHS had originally forecast, prompting more concerns about the beleaguered industry. Taiwan based ODMs build notebooks for Apple, HP, Dell, Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, Asus and Toshiba.

The knock on effect hit ODMs hard. Quanta got the worst of it, with a 27 percent plunge in shipments. It lost its spot as the world’s top ODM to Compal as a result. Furthermore, Quanta apparently received “conservative” orders from Acer, Asus, HP and Apple during the quarter. Compal saw a quarterly decline of 5 to 7 percent and it weathered the storm a bit better than other ODMs, thanks to stable shipments to Dell and Lenovo.

Wistron’s drop in shipments was 16 percent, but it still managed to rank third. Inventec saw a 9-percent drop and it ended in fourth spot, while Pegatron wasn’t as lucky. It saw its shipments plummet 21 percent, finishing the quarter in fifth spot.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel, though. ODM shipments are expected to improve in the second half of the year. The key drivers of growth will be cheap ultrathin PCs with touchscreens, along with new models based on Intel Haswell parts. In addition, Microsoft will lower the licencee fee for Windows for notebooks with a screen size of up to 11.6 inches, as we reported from Computex a few weeks back. Better late than never.

Analysts call on Acer to rethink its strategy

Posted on June 24, 2013 by - News, Opinions

acer-logo-ceLast week Acer held its annual shareholder bash in Taiwan, which was marked by a strange mix of optimism and admissions that the company was unprepared for the boom in tablets. Acer chairman Wang Jeng-tang issued an apology to shareholders, as he failed to boost the company’s shares, but he reiterated Acer’s commitment to the traditional PC market.

Dell wants friends with benefits

Posted on June 11, 2013 by - News

friendsDell is beefing up its imaging and print strategy partner programme so that it can provide exclusive benefits for its partners.

Deals up for grabs include rebates on inks and toner, to training and marketing funding, to enable partners to better sell Dell Imaging products and grow their print business by developing profitable, long-term relationships with customers.

According to Dell, it is also offering training and technical support, a dedicated account manager, and a reimbursement of up to 50 percent for marketing investments towards Dell campaigns.

While Dell has had a partnership arrangement for its strategic printing partners since 2008, the terms of this one all is new. It is designed to push sales of Dell mono, colour and multifunction printers.

A Dell spokesman said that the scheme builds on Dell’s existing commitment but provides new benefits.
Dave McNally, Director of Product Marketing, Dell Imaging, EMEA, said that as the growth of Dell’s print business continues to accelerate across key EMEA territories including the UK, Germany and France, it needed committed Partners.

These could come from within the traditional printer market and more widely, to take advantage of the dramatic growth forecasted for Managed Print Services (MPS).

“The Programme builds on our commitment to our channel Partners who continue to focus their print businesses on selling our printers. The Programme provides tools which will be integral in enabling our partners to further grow and strengthen customer relationships, benefitting both Dell and Partners,” McNally said.

Partners must already be Registered, Preferred or Premier Partners in the Dell PartnerDirect Programme to qualify.

 

Dell and Oracle cosy up

Posted on June 6, 2013 by - News

kissThe partnership between Dell and Oracle appears to be getting closer.

For a while now Dell has been packaging Oracle software and services with hardware, while Oracle optimised services for Dell’s products.

According to Sourcing Focus, the relationship is hotting up.

The two companies are starting to share customer support and engineering support services. Oracle is now listing Dell as a preferred x86 partner for deploying its software. At the same time, Dell highlighted Oracle as a preferred enterprise software provider for its hardware.

Oracle Co-President Mark Hurd described the shared relationship between the two IT giants as: “We test it together, we patch it together, we support it together.”
What is odd about the relationship is that the pair sometimes compete in different markets. Ironically, by working together, they hope to get a general competition advantage.

Dell has to come up with some new ideas as it tries to get back its market share after a downturn in its traditional PC markets.

It is not clear what Oracle’s advantage is, particularly as it has its own hardware business which is also not doing so well.

Hurd admitted that this more of a win for Dell and that this expanded alliance will enable Dell to “gain significant market share by delivering to its customers an integrated, optimized solution designed to deploy business critical applications”.

Market struggle leads to Dell on Earth

Posted on May 17, 2013 by - News

Michael DellDell’s quarterly net profit has slipped 79 percent as the company endures the struggle to see who will carve up the majority share and in which direction it will be taken.

That sounds rather dramatic, but in reality the company is still worth a heap. Total revenues for fiscal Q1 2014 were $14.1 billion.

In a prepared statement, Dell CFO Brian Gladden said the company had made progress in building its enterprise offerings and is “confident in our strategy to be the leading provider of end-to-end scalable solutions”. Additionally, Gladden said the company has been taking actions to improve Dell’s competitive position. “We’ll also continue to make important investments to support our strategy and drive long-term profitability” – more shopping?

Enterprise Solutions Group had revenues of $3.1 billion, a ten percent increase on the previous quarter, with a 71 percent boost in operating income at $136 million. Dell Services enjoyed two percent growth to $2.1 billion and an 11 percent increase in revenues from infrastructure, cloud and security services. Support and deployment also grew two percent, but applications and business process services dropped 15 percent. Operating income grew 10 percent to reach $370 million.

Dell software saw an operating loss on the back of $295 million in revenues. However, Dell believes this segment is “on track to be accretive” to earnings for Q1 fiscal 2015. End user computing declined nine percent, with revenues at $8.9 billion for the quarter. Desktop and thin client revenues dropped two percent, mobility declined 16 percent, and software from third parties and peripherals declined six percent.

PC sales plunged nine percent but in fairness, this is expected. The entire world is in a slump and, although Dell offers some kit at the low end of the market, no one’s really buying.

However, Dell did point out that new technologies revenues as well as services and software gained a 12 percent boost, to reach $5.5 billion.

Tin-box enterprise supremo and founder Michael Dell really wants to gain a majority share in the company so he can take it off the public market and shift it in a new direction – some whispers suggest the way of IBM, discarding a burdensome consumer unit and focusing fully on enterprise, services and related businesses. Michael Dell’s proposed buy-out, along with Silver Lake, is just short of $25 billion.

Shareholders Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management are trying to wrangle the company back from Mike and Silver Lake’s grip, insisting that the valuation is peanuts and investors should get much more for their buck. They are making their own proposals for the company, in a power struggle which has been ongoing for months.

Dell did not issue a company outlook, citing the announcement for a merger agreement to take Dell private as the reason.

 

Dell says small is beautiful

Posted on May 16, 2013 by - News, Products

Dell logoHardware company Dell has introduced two server products that  it claims are best of class.

It has introduced the Precision T1700 tower workstation which it is says is the smallest and lightest compared to the competition. The Intel based machines come with Nvidia or AMD graphics and has PCI x16 Gen 3 slots.  The T1700 SFF (small form factor) also has two front USB 3.0 ports.

In addition, Dell announced upgrades to its rack family – the Precision R6710 is suitable for datacenters.  It can support up to four single wide graphics card and can also support Nvidia Grid for virtualized graphics.

The R760 has 16DIMM slots, a 6GB/s LSI2308 SATA/SAS controller and uses dual Intel E5-2687W 160 watt eight core processors.

The R7610 workstation starts at $2,179, but Dell has still to price up the two T1700 workstations, available from June 4.

Dell price cuts fail to boost revenues

Posted on May 15, 2013 by - News

Michael DellA report claimed that Dell will announce results tomorrow that don’t match the expectations of financial analysts.

The Wall Street Journal claims to have talked to a person close to the matter who indicates profits continue to fall, as Dell slashed prices in order to boost sales.

The results were supposed to be out on May the 21st but have been brought forward, the source said.

And it indicates revenue will amount to around $14 billion, and comes against the background of potential buyouts from Michael Dell himself, in competition with Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management.

It’s not just Dell that’s been slashing prices, but some suspect there’s politics related to the potential buyout that’s pushing the company to announce its results tomorrow, rather than wait a few weeks.

European PC market continues downward spiral

Posted on May 15, 2013 by - News, Products

pc-sales-slumpThe global PC market contracted 13.9 percent in the first quarter of 2013 and Europe seems to have taken the worst hit. Sales of PCs in Western Europe fell off a cliff in the first three months of the year and they are down 20.5 percent year-on-year. Big brands like Acer and HP did even worse, experiencing a drop in excess of 30 percent.