Diversity in Dell Technologies’ portfolio supports Indian businesses with data-first approach

Data is more ubiquitous than ever today. Yet, originality and commitment are required to realise its full potential. In this more data-rich economy, data leaders are now navigating through a constantly expanding pool of internal and external data sources to curate strategy and direction. Companies must invest in IT support that is prepared for the future due to the increase in demand for business tech solutions with a digitisation drive. In this context, Xavier Kurian, Director Solutions and Alliances, Data Center & Compute Organization, Dell Technologies India. shares his perspectives in this interview. Excerpts:

How is the diversity in Dell Technologies’ portfolios helping Indian businesses?

Dell Technologies offers end to end enterprise solutions from edge to core to cloud. We also support Indian organisations with their data-first approach through industry-leading solutions in cloud, cybersecurity and Hyper-Converged Infrastructure for a seamless journey in the age of digital transformation. Our solutions are aimed at making data management simpler, secure and scalable for enterprises across the globe. With the aim of driving human progress through IT, our diverse portfolios also help businesses manage their investments in IT effectively.

Dell Technologies is a leader when it comes to the server and enterprise storage market in India. Our portfolio of advanced data storage technology for modern and legacy applications continues to help enterprises navigate through complex data issues. We also provide solutions across a variety of requirements within the enterprise from supporting legacy application to also new age architectures and solutions like containers and data-lakes offering a optimal balance of performance, cost and flexibility.

We are enabling Indian businesses to map their growth in an ever-evolving multi-cloud environment. Dell Technologies is committed to delivering new experiences, an expanded ecosystem, and offerings to help customers manage and protect applications across datacenters and multi-cloud environments. 

What are the trends in core IT  you foresee for 2023?

The IT landscape in India has undergone dynamic changes over the past year. The emergence of new-age technologies has opened new scopes for Indian enterprises. This year we expect the shift to a data-first mindset. It includes, 

Adopting a multi cloud-by-design strategy: Organisations will become more careful of the locations that they place their workloads in and move towards a multicloud by design strategy.  Going forward it is going to be important to assess the environment where workloads are housed ensuring that a business is operating from everywhere they need to be whether on a private cloud, public cloud, co-location facilities, the edge, or a combination of all of these locations. Organizations need to rethink their data storage strategy and build architectures for data that are both local and on cloud.

Sustainability at the core of infrastructure: We expect organisations to adopt sustainable IT infrastructure or invest in solution providers who promise integrated environmental benefits, along with expanded services. With growing data needs and increasing energy costs, organisations will be focussing on making their datacenters greener to conserve valuable resources and reduce costs. Businesses in India will have to invest in intelligent IT infrastructures that are environmentally sustainable, yet don’t compromise on digital transformation.

Zero Trust approach for cybersecurity: With the change in business resilience priorities, organisations need to shift their focus to a proactive security strategy which not only caters to data needs at the perimeter but also secures the supply chain. Until businesses consider cyber recovery in an as-a-service model, their cybersecurity plan needs to ensure that their protection is not only limited to their infrastructure but is extended to their applications and data. Many businesses today have an understanding and are planning or deploying Zero Trust security architecture, but very few have fully implemented the cybersecurity model that shifts how organisations approach security from relying solely on perimeter defences to only allowing known, authorised traffic.

Data on the edge for fast computing: As Indian businesses become digital-first, with heavy data workloads that need advanced and simplified solutions on site, edge technologies continue to play an increasingly significant role in the IT ecosystem moving forward. With edge, data can be securely acted upon in near-real time at the point of creation to add more value for businesses. At Dell Technologies, we see tremendous growth in edge solutions in the market where devices, infrastructure, and data come together to deliver real-time insights at scale.

A secure 5G network: While 5G (private APN’s etc) offers huge performance improvements in bandwidth and latency creating completely new use cases, it also enables more and more devices to be connected to the network. This also creates a massive new pool of connected devices or endpoints and a wider attack surface. The security of these endpoints must be managed throughout their lifecycle. Businesses must build effective and long-term cyber resiliency strategies to mitigate potential threats.

What were some of the key customer wins for Dell in the past year? What are your goals this year?

Dell Technologies has been working closely with leading Indian enterprises and CY22 saw some great collaborations. Greenpanel, India’s largest retailer of wood panels, adopted DellEMC VxRail to boost their digital transformation and modernise its datacenter to optimise operations.  The deployment of HCI, helped them focus on driving innovation and enabling future IT initiatives for their business. Furthermore, Dell Technologies also helped PhonePe launch their green datacenter in the country with liquid cooling technology - a first in India. Not only did we enable them in reducing emissions and meet sustainability goals, but through our PowerEdge servers, they also got to avail industry-leading performance. 

This year, we not only plan on sharing infrastructure solutions but will also help Indian enterprises improve on their business continuity plans. Businesses need to prepare for the future of work, progress their digital transformation journey, and realise real-time growth in the digital era.  It is imperative that business leaders consider “IT as a strategy” and build a plan to leverage to strategically grow business.

Dell has been leading in some IT solution segments in India. How has the brand been achieving this?

Customers in India have shown immense confidence in Dell Technologies’ offerings - and with good reason. According to the IDC Quarterly tracker for markets, Dell Technologies secured the top position in terms of market share in the mainstream server segment. We have also emerged as a leader in the enterprise storage segment in India. Our continued efforts in introducing future-ready innovations across our portfolio of solutions and services, are being noticed by enterprises of all scales and sizes.  We have been helping our partners and customers keep up with the changing IT needs and enabling public sector entities to prepare for the new-age technologies. Our holistic approach in IT grounded in the philosophy of boosting human progress through digital transformation, makes us stand apart. And the market results only go on to prove that we are on the right track. 

How is the diversity in Dell Technologies’ portfolios helping Indian businesses?

Dell Technologies offers end to end enterprise solutions from edge to core to cloud. We also support Indian organisations with their data-first approach through industry-leading solutions in cloud, cybersecurity and Hyper-Converged Infrastructure for a seamless journey in the age of digital transformation. Our solutions are aimed at making data management simpler, secure and scalable for enterprises across the globe. With the aim of driving human progress through IT, our diverse portfolios also help businesses manage their investments in IT effectively.

Dell Technologies is a leader when it comes to the server and enterprise storage market in India. Our portfolio of advanced data storage technology for modern and legacy applications continues to help enterprises navigate through complex data issues. We also provide solutions across a variety of requirements within the enterprise from supporting legacy application to also new age architectures and solutions like containers and data-lakes offering a optimal balance of performance, cost and flexibility.

We are enabling Indian businesses to map their growth in an ever-evolving multi-cloud environment. Dell Technologies is committed to delivering new experiences, an expanded ecosystem, and offerings to help customers manage and protect applications across datacenters and multi-cloud environments. 

What are the trends in core IT  you foresee for 2023?

The IT landscape in India has undergone dynamic changes over the past year. The emergence of new-age technologies has opened new scopes for Indian enterprises. This year we expect the shift to a data-first mindset. It includes:

Adopting a multi cloud-by-design strategy: Organisations will become more careful of the locations that they place their workloads in and move towards a multicloud by design strategy.  Going forward it is going to be important to assess the environment where workloads are housed ensuring that a business is operating from everywhere they need to be whether on a private cloud, public cloud, co-location facilities, the edge, or a combination of all of these locations. Organizations need to rethink their data storage strategy and build architectures for data that are both local and on cloud.

Sustainability at the core of infrastructure: We expect organisations to adopt sustainable IT infrastructure or invest in solution providers who promise integrated environmental benefits, along with expanded services. With growing data needs and increasing energy costs, organisations will be focussing on making their datacenters greener to conserve valuable resources and reduce costs. Businesses in India will have to invest in intelligent IT infrastructures that are environmentally sustainable, yet don’t compromise on digital transformation.

Zero Trust approach for cybersecurity: With the change in business resilience priorities, organisations need to shift their focus to a proactive security strategy which not only caters to data needs at the perimeter but also secures the supply chain. Until businesses consider cyber recovery in an as-a-service model, their cybersecurity plan needs to ensure that their protection is not only limited to their infrastructure but is extended to their applications and data. Many businesses today have an understanding and are planning or deploying Zero Trust security architecture, but very few have fully implemented the cybersecurity model that shifts how organisations approach security from relying solely on perimeter defences to only allowing known, authorised traffic.

Data on the edge for fast computing: As Indian businesses become digital-first, with heavy data workloads that need advanced and simplified solutions on site, edge technologies continue to play an increasingly significant role in the IT ecosystem moving forward. With edge, data can be securely acted upon in near-real time at the point of creation to add more value for businesses. At Dell Technologies, we see tremendous growth in edge solutions in the market where devices, infrastructure, and data come together to deliver real-time insights at scale.

A secure 5G network: While 5G (private APN’s etc) offers huge performance improvements in bandwidth and latency creating completely new use cases, it also enables more and more devices to be connected to the network. This also creates a massive new pool of connected devices or endpoints and a wider attack surface. The security of these endpoints must be managed throughout their lifecycle. Businesses must build effective and long-term cyber resiliency strategies to mitigate potential threats.

What were some of the key customer wins for Dell in the past year? What are your goals this year?

Dell Technologies has been working closely with leading Indian enterprises and CY22 saw some great collaborations. Greenpanel, India’s largest retailer of wood panels, adopted DellEMC VxRail to boost their digital transformation and modernise its datacenter to optimise operations.  The deployment of HCI, helped them focus on driving innovation and enabling future IT initiatives for their business. Furthermore, Dell Technologies also helped PhonePe launch their green datacenter in the country with liquid cooling technology - a first in India. Not only did we enable them in reducing emissions and meet sustainability goals, but through our PowerEdge servers, they also got to avail industry-leading performance. 

This year, we not only plan on sharing infrastructure solutions but will also help Indian enterprises improve on their business continuity plans. Businesses need to prepare for the future of work, progress their digital transformation journey, and realise real-time growth in the digital era.  It is imperative that business leaders consider “IT as a strategy” and build a plan to leverage to strategically grow business.

Dell has been leading in some IT solution segments in India. How has the brand been achieving this?

Customers in India have shown immense confidence in Dell Technologies’ offerings - and with good reason. According to the IDC Quarterly tracker for markets, Dell Technologies secured the top position in terms of market share in the mainstream server segment. We have also emerged as a leader in the enterprise storage segment in India. Our continued efforts in introducing future-ready innovations across our portfolio of solutions and services, are being noticed by enterprises of all scales and sizes.  We have been helping our partners and customers keep up with the changing IT needs and enabling public sector entities to prepare for the new-age technologies. Our holistic approach in IT grounded in the philosophy of boosting human progress through digital transformation, makes us stand apart. And the market results only go on to prove that we are on the right track.