How’s this for ironic: Microsoft says Q4 2011 PC sales declined deeper than most analysts estimated. But The VAR Guy remains upbeat about Dell’s long-term business strategy. Confused? Don’t be. Although Dell may remain overly dependent on PC sales for the short term, the company’s long-term acquisition strategy shows considerable promise for customers and partners alike. Here’s why.
Dell is expected to announce quarterly results February 21, according to EarningsWhispers.com. Right now, must pundits tracking Dell are focused on the company’s tablet strategy — which is emerging at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But The VAR Guy prefers to focus on Dell’s recent acquisitions — and their potential implications for channel partners.
The latest scorecard:
- Storage: By most accounts the Compellent and EqualLogic acquisitions have empowered storage partners with a broader portfolio of Dell options that customers want.
- Networking: The Force10 Networks acquisition has little to do with commodity networking, and instead focuses on data center networking.
- Cloud Integration: Dell Boomi allows cloud integrators to connect numerous SaaS and on-premise applications to one another with no appliances and no extra coding, the company claims. Multiple channel sources tell The VAR Guy that Boomi is the real deal.
- SaaS Security: Here, Dell positions SecureWorks as a managed security service for end-customers and MSPs.
- Managed Services: Here Dell KACE fits into the conversation.
Sure, Dell still loves hardware. But during the Oracle OpenWorld conference back in October 2011, Michael Dell began to connect the dots between each of Dell’s acquisitions. It was a compelling story — which will come into focus in 2012, The VAR Guy believes.
Still, Dell faces challenges. It sounds like overall PC industry sales in Q4 2011 were weaker than most pundits predicted. And Dell is nowhere to be seen in the hot consumer markets for tablets and smart phones. Ouch. Plus, there’s always a portion of the channel that questions Dell’s partner commitment — though Dell has largely mitigated such concerns in recent years.
Admittedly, Dell’s acquisition strategy hasn’t always hit the mark. Buyouts like Everdream and Silverback Technologies about four years ago were supposed to give Dell a leg up in the MSP partner market. But both of those deals ultimately had niche appeal and never gained a mass audience.
Fast forward to the present and sources keep telling The VAR Guy that Dell’s current spending spree (involving Boomi, Compellent, EqualLogic, Force10 Networks and SecureWorks) is right on target.
The VAR Guy is starting to believe his sources. But can all of those Dell acquisitions offset continued challenges in the PC market? Hmmm…
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Tags: Dell Boomi | Dell Compellent | Dell EqualLogic | Dell Force10 Networks | Dell KACE | Dell SecureWorks | Michael Dell | Technology Merger and Acquisition Information
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I agree that their diversification and solution strategy makes total sense.
It is also interesting to see how quickly Dell is rebranding all the buildings of the acquired companies. Driving through Silicon Valley the other day, it was impressive to sell all the buildings in the Valley with the Dell logo on them. The Valley looks like Dell-land.
So, clearly, part of this acquisition strategy is to tap into the long term human capital strength of Silicon Valley. Dell is putting down deeper roots out here to tap into the talent pool.
Ted Hulsy
VP of Marketing, eFolder
@TedseFolder
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