Dell Will Spend $1 Billion in New Focus on Internet of Things

Key takeaways

Dell Technologies is investing $1 billion to enhance its focus on the Internet of Things over the next three years.

The new division will utilise artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop IoT products and partnerships.

CEO Michael Dell aims to attract customers increasingly leaning towards cloud-based services from competitors like Amazon and Microsoft.

Dell's current IoT offerings include devices for managing data from various connected devices, such as security cameras and industrial sensors.

Ray O’Farrell, VMware's chief technology officer, will lead the new IoT-focused unit within Dell.

Dell Technologies Inc. is doubling down on the Internet of Things. The company is creating a division that will focus on developing products, research and partnerships for a field that connects everything from driverless cars to light bulbs to the internet. Dell said it’s investing $1 billion over the next three years for the effort, which will employ artificial intelligence and machine learning technology. Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell is looking for fresh ways to attract customers who are spending more on cloud-based computing services at providers such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. With the Internet of Things, companies may opt to buy Dell’s gear that can be placed near a connected device to manage all of the information it’s creating -- instead of waiting for the bits to be sent to a far-away cloud data centre via a network. The company already sells some gear and software designed for the Internet of Things, including devices that come with chips and networking features to manage data that might come from a security camera or industrial sensors. The new unit will be led by Ray O’Farrell, chief technology officer at data-centre software provider VMware, which is part of Dell, the company said Tuesday in a statement. Dell Technologies, which includes units such as Dell EMC, Pivotal, VMware and RSA, touches on many aspects of IoT. In addition, IoT endpoints and gateways are expected to become more powerful to reduce latency and bring more intelligence to the edge. For technology vendors, IoT represents a big opportunity by itself as well as in context of broader business shifts. IoT, along with big data analytics, is the centrepiece of most digital transformation efforts. IoT is also an emerging theme for 2018 and a budget priority.

Dell Will Spend $1 Billion in New Focus on Internet of Things

Key takeaways

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