Dell Software President’s Advisory Board Sets the Tone for 2014

John Swainson standing by screen with Dell Software key trends slideAt Dell Software, we are laser-focused on our customers. They are our number one priority, and we have not lost sight of them in the year since we unveiled our strategy at Dell World 2012.  We take their feedback very seriously, and that’s why, last year, we assembled a President’s Advisory Board of more than 20 CIO/CISO/VP customers. This exclusive group of thought leaders is effectively helping to shape the future of Dell Software, in terms of being a key enabler to Dell’s transformation; from a provider of products to a leading provider of end to end, scalable and affordable technology solutions. 

A sounding board of world-class experts who help ensure Dell Software is addressing the IT challenges that business and IT leaders face today, the President’s Advisory Board concluded its third meeting in December, and the outcome was awesome! The meeting format allows for peer exchange of best practices, trends and opportunities, and, as our members have grown more comfortable with each other, the conversation has become more dynamic and compelling. In December, we focused on the topics of Cloud, Security and BYOD, and broke off into subcommittees to tackle these important topics.  In fact, much of the dialogue from that meeting is already helping to set the course for Dell Software in 2014. Here’s a look at some of the discussion:

Cloud

The world has only begun to scratch the potential of the cloud. Many organizations use the cloud only as a way to store documents or track sales leads. Enterprises will begin to shift more of their legacy and mission-critical applications to the cloud as the economics become more compelling. By contrast, small-to medium-sized businesses will experiment with hybrid public/private cloud architectures that effectively allow them to lower their costs and increase convenience without compromising uptime or system integrity. Dell aims to be the preferred technology partner bringing those businesses to the cloud.

Security

The rules and conventions surrounding security also will undergo a massive overhaul in 2014. Businesses will give customers and other third parties greater access to internal systems, while employees will be linking to IT through a greater variety of devices. Delivering seamless integrated solutions that provide enterprise-class security and convenience to all customer segments is a primary goal for Dell Connected Security.

BYOD

The customers in this sub-committee told us BYOD is dead, if viewed as simply mobile device management (MDM), and  the real concern behind BYOD management is actually data management, governance and security. Businesses will be coming up with ways to both manage and exploit the exponentially expanding universe of data collected and generated by their systems, regardless of devices. Developing data management, governance and security tools and advanced business intelligence to transform big data into Big Data is KEY to aligning to their respective businesses in order to deliver value.  We not only listened to this compelling position, we are now in the midst of launching our Enterprise Mobility Management solution enabling customers to focus on this important shift from viewing BYOD as MDM and toward the value of managing, governing and protecting data. 

The President’s Advisory Board has become an invaluable partner in steering Dell Software’s business strategy and plans, and, with their expert guidance, we’re in excellent shape for the year to come! Here’s the perspective of Board member Mark Bryant, CIO, PCL Constructors Inc.:

"The Dell PAB allows like-minded CIOs to work directly with Dell on the collaboration of solutions. This open forum and diversity allows us to share collective ideas and creative thinking and, ultimately, drive value for our collective businesses.”

Today, Dell Software provides solutions for security, cloud, information management and data management to more than 1 million customers worldwide. We serve over 90 percent of the Fortune 1000 and, just as importantly, we bring end-to-end security solutions, advanced business intelligence and cloud capabilities to organizations of all sizes. We’re already addressing key customer concerns from Big Data to BYOD to Connected Security, and, with the help of the President’s Advisory Board, 2014 will see us continue to grow our ability to meet our customers’ most critical IT needs.

 Update 2/17/14: Additions have been made in the paragraph about BYOD to clarify that attendees meant the emphasis should be on applications and data, rather than mobile devices.

About the Author: John Swainson