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

To: arthur pritchard who wrote (89288)	1/14/1999 4:26:00 PM
From: Ibexx	Respond to of 176388

Thread, From InfoWorld--hot from the press: _______ Dell stays ahead of the pack by adding innovative online features By Jim Battey (January 11, 1999) 1998 will be remembered as the year online commerce really took off, and no Web site better exemplifies the surge in Internet-based sales than Dell Computer's. When HotSites Extra last visited Dell's Web presence a year ago (see "Dell Store delivers seamless online buying experience") the company was averaging about $3 million per day in online sales. That number now tops $10 million per day, and Dell is well on its way to achieving its stated goal of generating 50 percent of its sales through the Web by 2000. So, how does Dell do it? Dell has always been extremely adept at leveraging its Web site, but the real key is that the company stays ahead of the pack by constantly introducing innovative features while never straying too far from the basic goal of making it easy for customers to purchase products online. Customers first Apart from the stunning increase in Web-based sales, the most significant online trend at Dell this past year has been the continuing success of its Premier Pages service. Premier Pages are customized Web sites that are designed to cater to specific business requirements. For example, Dell's Premier Pages service could provide a government agency with approved system configurations and special pricing that are unique to that organization. Other features such as order tracking, service history, and inventory reports are also available. Originally intended for large corporate customers, Dell extended the Premier Pages service to smaller businesses. The total number of organizations currently participating in the program exceeds 3,000. Give Dell plenty of credit for not resting on its laurels. Just last month, Dell improved its Premier Pages service by introducing HelpTech, which is billed as a virtual help desk for corporate IT departments. The idea here is to provide technically oriented customers with the same support tools and applications that are available to Dell's own customer support staff. Among HelpTech's features are a software update notification service called File Watch and an improved process for ordering spare parts online. Dudley is no dud Another new online feature called Ask Dudley is geared toward general users, although IT folks should also find it useful. Ask Dudley is a natural language search tool that lets customers ask technical support questions in plain English. The Ask Dudley system doesn't answer technical questions directly but provides a variety of support information options to choose from. The technology behind Ask Dudley is supplied by Ask Jeeves, a Berkeley, Calif.-based Web software developer that maintains a popular search site that carries the same name. The nerdy, but hip Dudley is an amiable-looking chap with oversized glasses, a graying beard, and a ponytail. Dell may be overdoing it a bit by adorning Dudley with what appears to be a pocket protector, but he does remind you of the guy down the hall people turn to when confronted with a technical dilemma. One knock against Ask Dudley is the feature that claims to "take a peek" at what customers are currently asking. After you watch this for a few minutes, it becomes obvious that these might not be actual real-time questions, but are most likely a set of canned queries scripted by the site's programmers. This minor deception aside, Dell continues to set a lofty standard in the online commerce arena. Even with all of the new features and enhancements, the Dell Store remains a well-organized site that delivers a pleasing online shopping experience. In fact, Dell's overall Web presence is so robust and fully developed that there probably isn't a whole lot of room for improvement. Dell's biggest online challenge in 1999 will be to keep adding innovative features while maintaining the right mix of services, support, and information to retain its exploding online customer base. Ibexx