In Conclusion

In conclusion, Michael S. Dell has a come a long way from building computers in his dorm room to becoming one of the biggest entrepreneurs in the world. An interesting fact about this company is how Dell’s vision started. He bought IBM parts from a warehouse and created a PC that he later sold by mail-order. It was this simple move that created a phenomenon for many other companies as well. His simple method of selling directly to customers has changed the way businesses operate. Dell is one of the leading service providers in the world. It strives in efficiency by selling customers with the best quality in a low price or overall cost leadership. The famous electronic device offers basic and advance hardware, software, files, and networks. Dell uses business to business as well as business to consumer to buy and sell products on the Internet, also known as e-commerce. E-commerce has helped small businesses as well as enterprises achieve many goals by offering desirable products to companies such as Cisco Unified Communications Software and various other technological components. To conclude, Dell will continue to grow and stand by its direct selling strategy. The company will continue to offer new, quality products that both businesses and individuals will need.

Technology

Network





Dell uses both the LAN and WAN network; which connects two or more computers communicating with each other. The LAN is a Local Area Network that consists of anywhere from two to thousands of computers; even a simple network of a computer connected to a printer can be considered a LAN. Furthermore, the article Dell Develops Wireless Technology (C-Net), discusses how Dell developed its own wireless system. Dell's product TrueMobile is used in notebooks which is convenient for many college students. As for WAN which is known as Wide Area Networks are very large networks of computers. They span very large geographical areas covering couple of miles and sometimes connecting computers thousands of miles apart.
The kind of interface that Dell uses is an Ethernet card which is the most common, that run's to a switch, and allows one to do the wiring with cables. Dell uses both wired and wireless media. Wired communication media transmit information through a connection; while wireless communication transmits information through the air.
Dell offers Cisco Unified Communications Software. This software helps enterprise communicate in an effective way. It is also essential part of business strategies because correct and useful information need to be delivered to authorized companies. Dell also offers Cisco Systems which includes power adapters to actual VoIP phones. These components are connected through a security systems router which offers IPS, firewall, URL filtering, VPN, and infrastructure security services over numerous WAN access technologies, offering the highest levels of performance, security, scalability, and availability for today's small to midsize businesses or enterprise branch offices.
Voice over IP is the ability to send voice communications over the Internet and avoid the toll charges. The electronic device such as Dell, offers Voice over IP through Nortel Networks and Cisco for small businesses. Nortel and Cisco use the four principles of network security which are confidentiality, authenticity, integrity and availability. This means information is accessible to authorized companies only. It also means that the source is credible. The information is not altered in any way. Last but not least, the service is used when needed. Dell’s domain name is Dell.com.



Hardware
Some hardware categories used or sold by Dell are Input, Output, Storage, Processing,
Telecommunication and Connecting; which consist of CPU, Memory card, Graphics card,Monitors, Keyboards, Mouse, Printers, hard disks, modems, Ports, Scanners, Adapters etc.Dell makes its own computers and sell different types ranging from PC's which is also known as personal computers, Desktops computers, laptops computers,workstations, Servers, notebooks,and supercomputers.Intel and Microsoft are largely responsible for Dell's software and hardware.Some types of system software used in Dell computers are Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft window XP,Microsoft windows XP X64, Anti-Spyware software, Linker software etc. Linux which is an open source operating system is also used by Dell.Opera(Web Browser),Microsoft word(Word Processing),Microsoft Excel(Spreed sheet Software),SQL(Data ball Software),Microsoft Powerpoint(Presentation Software)Media Player(Audio /Video Software), World of Warcraft(Game Software), Adobe Photoshop(Graphics Software) and ITunes(Music/sound software are some of the types of apllications software used or sold by Dell.



Dell uses various types of files such as drive, firmware, diagnostic utility, application, patch/upgrade,utility, and HTML. The databases that are used are Oracle RAC and SQL Server 2005 which is also part of Dell database solutions. OLAP is part of the Enterprise Edition so managers can retrieve their reports. The reports include projections that lead to successful strategic decisions, and for improving everyday decision making. Dell offers Integrated Systems Management with Microsoft offerings to improve business efficiency and help managers get reports. Dell has a data warehouse through Microsoft Business Intelligence Data Warehouse which is largely offered to large businesses. Dell created a data mart hosted on Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition, and is accessed through a portal created using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Oracle Data Mining or DataWatch are two various types of data mining software that are used by Dell Incorporation. The companies are also responsible for ensuring Dell that customers would be protected and that data mining works. Many of these software, files, databases, etc. are mostly used by businesses and enterprises.

E-Commerce

Dell uses primarily business to consumer e-commerce, meaning that they sell their products to customers who are mainly individuals. Customers hoping to purchasing computers, interact directly with Dell. Dell also uses the business to business e-commerce, by selling products and services to customers who are primarily into businesses. Dell supplies several corporations and business that depend on technology, as well as colleges and universities. As for internet business model, Dell uses two various models. These models are made to order and direct sales. Made to order has saved Dell inventory, time, and money. The made to order model is a structure that Dell uses to customize customer’s needs. If a customer wants a certain program or style of the computer, Dell creates the product according to the customer’s order. Direct sales is a successful model that was once unknown. This model is to sell directly to the customers. Dell believed that it would be best to sell directly to customers without a middleman.



Dell attracts their costumers by online ads, for instance, a person who goes to a website called NewComputerProducts.com is very likely to be interested in buying a computers which is why Dell has ads on the website to lead the costumers to Dell's website. They are also registered with search engines, if someone looks for computers for sale on Google, Dell's website would appear on the top or the right side of the search results. Dell also use Viral marketing, the company has always been associated with designing, manufacturing and customizing products and services to satisfy a diversified range of customers including individual customers to corporate and retailing businesses. Satisfied customers will most likely encourage others to buy computers from Dell because of the satisfying service. Dell offers a variety of ways to pay for Dell equipment. They accept PayPal which is a financial cybermediary, credit cards, and Dell Financial Account which is an option of paying month to month.

Business Strategy

In order for a company to survive, strategies must be used to strive in the competitive world of business. There are three various types business strategies that is widely known and used for competition in any industry. These basic strategies are overall cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. The company, Dell uses overall cost leadership strategy. The popular electronic-device company began its successful journey with a simple strategy. The strategy that the company uses is to "sell directly to the customer and concentrate on value".(Easy as Dell:Time Magazine) This tactic has been very successful for Dell for it has become one of the leading service providers in the world.

In the computer manufacturing industry such as Dell, buyer power is high because according to Dell Computer Corporation customers are able to customize their products with various types of choices such as operating system, style, applications, and etc. Supplier power is low because Dell has a few choices from whom to buy. For instance, Dell only offers a limited choices of operating systems as well as processors. The supply is low because operating systems or processors are not compatible with some laptops or desktops. Threats of substitute products or services are high because there are many alternatives to choose from. There are many companies that offer the same electronic devices which is International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) Threat of new entrants is high because there are significant entry openings to enter into the market. Rivalry among existing competitors is high since overall competition is very intense. They increase the buyer power by using IT-enabled process. Dell would not want to reduce their buyer power, instead they would increase in that area having only few choices of software companies to buy from. Dell creates switching costs by having fair prices according to the each computers functions and capabilities. Most customers are willing to pay such prices, especially since their product is customed designed. They create entry by providing the expected high quality software, hardware, memory, warranty, tech support, as well as standard features.






Dell Computer's Supply Chain Management (SCM) system gives the company a great advantage compare to other traditional computer manufacturers. Dell sells computers directly from its website so there is no inventory in its distribution chain. Traditional computer manufacturers have the computers sit in the warehouse until someone buys it. This holds on to inventory in a distribution chain, which cost a lot of money due to the payment for the operation of the warehouse while waiting until the computers are purchased. Computers also become obsolete which means the price has to be reduced because of new models. Dell also uses i2 supply chain management software to send ordered parts to manufacture and costumers. Dell keeps the cost of purchased parts and products at a low price which is why it's a bottom-line initiative. The type software that Dell uses is system software. Depending on the model of the computer correlates with the version of the windows software.

Matrix is the type of IT culture that is used in Dell's Computers. Apart from Dell's order to build and principles of direct marketing, there are also some fundamental principles to their business strategy. That is collaboration. Instead of Dell keeping inventories on hand in a warehouse which is very expensive, Dell sends out information to rest of the organizations and suppliers of different parts. Information is then used to customize their computers as soon as a computer is ordered. Thereby reducing cost and improving services. Collaboration tools can yield great benefit in a business environment. Organization's placement or use of information technology functions depends on the organizations philosophy as to deployment, development and the use of IT. The philosophical approach that is used by Dell is decentralized approach which is also known as early adopters of technology. It encourages technology innovation; a system whereby new technologies are experimented even if it fails. Decentralized early adopters helps the company to stand out from other companies where computer consumers are able to choose what their purchases will look like in terms of applications, software and operations in their finished products.

Introduction/ History

Introduction

Dell, Incorporated is one of the most popular electronic devices in the world. The company is a computer hardware manufacturer and distributor. It is commonly known and used by homeowners to large enterprise. Dell is a popular choice for customers because it is high in quality and low in price. The famous company's products includes laptops, desktops,as well as other various types of electronics. The company's strategy and technology is largely praise for their fast service and direct sales. The growing company is also a popular choice for consumers because of its customization. Customers are able to receive their products by their own choice and preference. However, there is one man that is responsible for all Dell's successes. That man is Michael S. Dell.



History/ CEO

According to Funding Universe, Dell Inc. was founded in 1984 by Michael S. Dell. He is the CEO and chairman of the company. Michael S. Dell first started selling personal computers out of his dorm room as a freshman at the University of Texas in Austin. He would use wholesale computer parts and assemble them into imitation of IBM computers. Afterward, he sold the computers by mail order to customers at a lower price. This approach became successful as his company became a growing business. Dell was the CEO for 20 years. During the year 2004 , Kevin B Rollins a former COO, became the CEO with Dell still being an essential part of the board team. However, as crisis began to appear, Michael S. Dell once again successor CEO position in the year 2007. Currently, Dell, Inc. has created many new products with many more to come.