I just returned from a trip to Austin for my third Dell World since joining the company … and boy how things have changed. Three years ago, it seemed that the people attending Dell World were struggling to get their arms around the idea that Dell sells enterprise software, let alone the fact that Dell offers what I would argue is the most comprehensive and powerful identity and access management (IAM) suite on the market. But this year, security was front-and-center and IAM was one of the jewels in Dell’s shiny security crown. In fact, Michael Dell specifically mentioned security, IAM, and our soon-to-be-released Safeguard solution in his keynote address.
I had literally dozens of conversations with real people, from real organizations, ready to tackle real IAM challenges. I spoke to a packed house on the topic of “ensuring the success of your IAM project” and spent nearly an hour afterwards sharing insights and experiences with people seeking our help with their projects. Other significant events were the announcement of Dell One Identity Cloud Access Manager 8.1 and Defender as a Service, presentations on context-aware security, the data-centric approach to security, and the evolution of privileged account management with a preview of our soon-to-be-released Safeguard solution. The three pillars of IAM – access management, identity governance, and privileged management – were in-demand topics with an almost constant stream of interested attendees stopping by our booth the learn what we can do for them.
But perhaps the most exciting part of the event was Dell World User Forum where we had an entire track dedicated to Dell One Identity Manager.
A full room of Dell One Identity Manager customers, prospects, and partners learned the tips-and-tricks to getting the most from the solution; received in-depth training on the newest version of the solution; and shared experiences and best practices that ensure a successful, business-enabling, rapid ROI IAM deployment. I’ve always thought our solution was cool, but it is very encouraging to see and hear others confirm my long-held belief.
So if I were to summarize what I learned from Dell World 2015, I would say:
- Dell is all-in with security and IAM in particular
- The three “hottest” topics in IAM right now are Cloud Access Manager, Identity Manager, and the comprehensive privileged account management stack
- Customer perception has shifted and Dell is a top-of-mind destination for companies looking for security solutions
- Austin is still a cool town with great food and even better music
See you in 2016.