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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kemble s. matter who wrote (172600)	4/3/2003 8:21:17 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

White boxes, Web services and Dell By Charlie Cooper Executive Editor/Commentary CNET News.com April 3, 2003 After emerging as the PC cost king, Dell Computer has since expanded into workstations and servers and, more recently, into printers and so-called 'white boxes.' The company last month shipped its first printers (which are made by Lexmark) and received decent--though hardly gushing--reviews. White boxes refer to computers built for dealers and regional manufacturers that resell the machines under their own names. When Dell last August announced its plans, executives talked about how white boxes would ultimately help double total sales (though CEO Michael Dell has since expressed a more cautious tone). Though it's too early to gauge the success of either initiative, there is a familiar theme: In each instance, we're talking about hardware where price and delivery define the rules of the game. Dell long ago mastered that drill, and there's no reason to suspect its corporate DNA won't kick into gear as the company ventures into new, albeit associated, businesses. But selling commodity gear is one thing. Selling the kind of advanced corporate services increasingly demanded by enterprise IT shops is another. If I had a dime every time someone said Dell was biting off too much, I could have retired years ago. And maybe there is so much new hardware business for the taking that Dell will never need think about offering Web services or vertical consulting expertise. But it is clear that as corporate buyers slowly emerge from a long hibernation to upgrade their IT infrastructure, chief information officers will demand more from their suppliers than ever before.