Dell Targets Cloud Computing

Fewer than two months after Michael Dell resumed
control
of his company, things at headquarters are shifting again. Today
Dell announced a new division focused on the
needs of businesses operating “hyper-scale computing environments.”

While Dell  is best known as a provider of
computer products to the masses, the new Dell Data Center Solutions
division is targeting a very select number of companies.

The division will build prototypes and custom hardware
solutions, such as servers optimized for larger throughput, as well as
improved latency.

The computer and datacenter requirements of Web 2.0-oriented companies
such as eBay, Google and Yahoo can be quite different than traditional IT
shops. With the new division, Dell thinks it can offer more unique or custom
solutions than its competitors, including HP, Sun and IBM, typically provide.

“For a lot of these Web 2.0 companies it’s all about performance; they’re
less interested in the same balanced systems anyone else can buy,” Forrest
Norrod, vice president and general manager of the new Dell division, told
internetnews.com.

Norrod said that the new division builds on such Dell strengths as
build-to-order manufacturing and support for industry standards. But he also
noted it is different enough to stand out. “This is not a repudiation of
standards; wherever possible we’ll build using standard components.

“But we want to focus on the specific needs of the customer and that’s
different than, say, HP’s ‘blade
everything
‘ approach or IBM, which also thinks blades are the answer to
every problem. We have a very technical team that is hyper-skilled when it
comes to what Web 2.0 companies need.”

If you went to a systems company with these kinds of
requests, Norrod added, you didn’t get very far, or they provided an extremely expensive solution. “Most general-purpose products are optimized to run
a range of applications; that’s not what these guys want. They want systems
that are tuned for what they’re doing.”

Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds said the new division is “a very clever”
move by Dell, but he’s not convinced it’s all about offering custom
solutions. “I suspect the stuff they build will cost significantly less than
what you’d have to pay HP and others,” Reynolds told
internetnews.com. “If not, if they don’t address the price issue, it
won’t sell.

“Cloud computing is all about companies getting as many computers as they
need to get as much work done as possible. These companies, the Second
Life’s
of the world and others, are looking for an edge on how to lower
the
cost of operations.”

Google  is the envy of the tech world and coveted
by systems vendors for its enormous and highly efficient computing
infrastructure. But systems vendors don’t have a chance at Google’s business
because the company builds its own servers.

Reynolds said that Google gets about 10 times the compute power per
dollar spent on IT than other companies. “If you’re a Microsoft or a Yahoo,
that’s what you’re competing with.”

Dell’s effort could pay off in other ways down the
road, Reynolds added. “It’ll be interesting to see how much of this
technology
makes its way to the general market.”

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