Today, Michael Dell was in San Francisco for a keynote at the Citrix Synergy Conference. I was able to be in the audience and enjoy the keynote live. Below are a few of my thoughts that I wanted to share on his keynote.
Twenty-six years ago, Michael Dell started a desktop revolution by selling PCs directly to customers. Dell's strategy changed the industry by eliminating costs and simplifying IT for people, because Michael realized that PCs could improve people's lives. To him, IT has always been about enabling human potential.
Fast forward to 2010, and Dell has evolved from a PC company to one with a portfolio of solutions for the Virtual Era. Michael defined the Virtual Era as a time of convergence toward ubiquitous computing capabilities driven by virtualization. People have the opportunity to achieve their potential anywhere, anytime and in any way they choose to. They are no longer constrained by time, place or device.
Expectations have shifted to emphasize instant access and a personalized experience. Data and applications have to follow people, and virtualization is the great enabler of this anywhere and anytime expectation. But with great expectations come great challenges. How will Dell help customers grow and thrive as resources become more scarce?
We start with an evolution of the Dell solutions portfolio from a product-centric orientation to a solutions- and services-centric orientation. Dell has more than two billion conversations with customers every year. From these engagements, Dell is creating a solutions portfolio to enable our customers to grow their business and fulfill their important missions.
My key takeaways from Michael's keynote at Citrix Synergy:
1. Virtualization will enable ubiquity.
2. Dell and Citrix XenClient is a step in the right direction in enabling anywhere, anytime, and any way; but it is just the beginning.
3. Dell has the end-to-end portfolio of solutions, services and partnerships to enable the ubiquitous client evolution.
Ultimately, the validation of Michael's messages begins with our solutions deliverables such as the Dell | Citrix reference architectures and business ready configurations built on Dell PowerEdge servers, EqualLogic iSCSI storage arrays, Latitude E family laptops, and smart mobile devices. Dell's ubiquitous client evolution is being led by Dell PG engineers like Ron Pepper and Ramesh Radhakrishnan Ph.D., who in partnership with Citrix architects are creating clouds on which people can soar to their greatest potentials.
You can watch a replay of the keynote from the Citrix website, which will be available on Friday, May 14. Look for the "Day 2" keynotes section.