Michael Dell Says Standardization of Digital Home to Lower Costs for Consumers
Monday June 23, 5:46 pm ET
Champion of Industry Standards in IT Data Center To Simplify, Integrate Consumer Technologies Into Home Networks
ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 2003-- Dell (Nasdaq:DELL - News) today said it will do for consumers what it did for business and government customers -- simplify, enrich and lower the cost of the networked home computing experience.
By driving industry standards for consumer technologies, the convergence of a broad range of consumer electronic equipment in the home -- with the personal computer being at the center -- is inevitable, Dell Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell said during a media briefing.
"Customer demand for standards-based technology and services that are easy to deploy and manage spurred us to lead the move to standardize the data center," Dell said. "Consumers tell us they want to connect their computers, home networks and consumer electronics under an open, standards-based architecture."
"As we saw with personal computing, high-performance workstations, server computing, services, storage and the data center, standardization is inevitable," Mr. Dell said. "And with standardization comes another certainty -- the customer always wins through lower costs and freedom from proprietary products at unreasonable prices."
Dell currently offers thousands of consumer technology products through its catalog and online, ranging from digital cameras and MP3 players to TiVo Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and wireless access points. Dell recently announced its own line of printers, the Axim X5 handheld computer, and redesigned wireless-ready Inspiron notebooks. Consumers can also verify broadband availability, select a provider and subscribe online at www.dell.com in a matter of minutes, taking advantage of the industry's largest commercial Web site.
Mr. Dell said the company's primary efforts in its push to standardize consumer electronics will focus on the company's product development efforts, as well as direct involvement with industry groups developing digital rights management technology, media format and network connectivity standards for the digital home of the near future. Further, Mr. Dell commented that it will be the development and emergence of an IP-based digital home network that will allow for devices to talk to each other, share information, and make customers' lives easier.
Industry analyst Forrester Research Inc. predicts the number of U.S. homes with home networks will more than quintuple over the next five years, with the sharp rise resulting from broadband adoption and plummeting equipment costs.
In a recent report titled "Who Will Network The Home (May 2003)," they stated the battle between PC-centric and entertainment-centric networks built around consumer electronics, personal video recorders (PVRs) and cable or satellite set-top boxes is over. PCs and broadband will push home networking into the mainstream, with entertainment and home automation functions in tow.
Mr. Dell said the company's commitment to standardization of the digital home complements its primary focus on meeting the enterprise computing needs of its business and institutional customers through products and services that are easy to buy, deploy and manage. Approximately 85 percent of Dell's sales are to businesses and government, where Dell has consistently driven adoption of industry standards and significantly lowered the cost of IT ownership and operation.
Mr. Dell cited Dell's Customer Assistance and Resolution Team (CART) of engineers as a key component of the digital home standardization effort, noting that the team proactively tests hundreds of peripherals and software products each year to ensure compatibility with Dell products, as well as discover and resolve issues before customers experience them.
"The personal computer is the most important digital product in the home," concluded Mr. Dell. "We're committed to helping customers enjoy the full benefits that networked digital technology has to offer with the goal of becoming their trusted technology advisor."
About Dell
Dell Computer Corporation (Nasdaq:DELL - News) is a premier provider of products and services required for customers worldwide to build their information-technology and Internet infrastructures. Company revenue for the past four quarters totaled $36.9 billion. Dell, through its direct business model, designs, manufactures and customizes products and services to customer requirements, and offers an extensive selection of software and peripherals. Information on Dell and its products can be obtained at www.dell.com.
Dell is a trademark of Dell Computer Corporation.
Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.
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Source: Dell Computer Corporation
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