Dell Technologies World 2019 Preview: 5 Big Things To Expect

CRN breaks down five important news topics that will likely be front and center at Dell Technologies World 2019 next week in Las Vegas.

Dell Technologies World 2019 Predictions

Tens of thousands of channel partners and customers will be flocking to Las Vegas next week for the highly anticipated Dell Technologies World 2019.

The Round Rock, Texas-based $91 billion infrastructure giant has been on a tear lately, dominating the server, storage and hyper-converged infrastructure markets. However, there are many questions still lingering around the company such as the need for a clearer cloud strategy and an update to the blockbuster Dell Technologies Advantage framework that has major implications for all channel partners across the globe.

Dell Technologies World, which runs from April 29 to May 2, will also include Dell’s Global Partner Summit conference. Here are five things you should expect to hear from the likes of CEO and founder Michael Dell and Channel Chief Joyce Mullen at Dell Technologies World next week.

Consumption-Based Offerings

As consumption-based selling models are becoming more prevalent in the IT landscape, Dell Technologies might make a splash in the market during the event, according to Mullen.

“As we know, consumption models are here to stay,” said Mullen (pictured). “As we introduce our new cloud strategy, cloud offers, improved consumption capability and improved offers around that – including offers for partners – it’s part of what we’re building. We’re listening to our customers and we’re listening to our partners. They’re asking for more of this. We have to figure out how to deliver some more of that.”

Although Dell Financial Services (DFS) is being used by 2,000 partners and has $9.7 billion worth of assets under management, more consumption-based capabilities might be on the docket for Dell Technologies World. “As part of that cloud strategy, we have an incredible Dell Financial Services engine, but consumption models are not just about financing. So we’re trying to figure out how to beef up our capabilities there,” said Mullen. “We’ll have some more details at Dell Technologies World.”

VMware Integration Plans

With Dell EMC and VMware’s integration strategy at an all-time high, attendees should expect to hear an even clearer technology roadmap ahead between the two vendors. This will likely come during either Michael Dell’s keynote or from VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger (pictured), who will be speaking at both Dell Technologies World and Dell’s Global Partner Summit.

Mullen said executives will be talking about how “Dell and VMware are going to be working more closely together” during the conference. Dell acquired a majority stake in VMware through its market shakeup $67 billion acquisition of EMC in 2016. VMware and Dell have been jointly engineering solutions together, including around the hyper-converged market-leading solution VxRail, over the past few years with no plans on slowing down. Solution providers say the integration is paying off big time in channel sales gains over the past 12 months.

Cloud Strategy Top Of Mind

Dell Technologies includes many different companies under its umbrella -- including Dell EMC, VMware, RSA, Pivotal Software, SecureWorks and VirtuStream -- making the company’s overall cloud strategy hard to define. In a recent interview with CRN, Dell EMC’s global channel leader Mullen said the company’s cloud strategy will be one of the key topics of discussion at Dell Technologies World this year.

“You will see more focus on cloud at Dell Technologies World,” said Mullen. “We have some really cool capabilities that we’ve already launched, but maybe we’re not making enough noise about how our product interfaces with cloud, and how we connect to various public and private cloud capabilities. You’ll hear more about that.”

The Dell Technologies Advantage Framework

Partners will be given an update on the channel game-changing Dell Technologies Advantage framework. Currently in pilot mode, the framework will strategically and operationally align all of the organizations inside Dell Technologies’ family of businesses to make it easier for partners to transact, engage and sell end-to-end solutions across its massive portfolio. Dell has been investing and working to craft the new framework for well over a year with the help of a handful partners. The framework also aims to simplify the certification process across Dell Technologies to ensure partners investments are maximized across the portfolio.

“You’ll hear much more about [Dell Technologies Advantage] at Dell Technologies World,” said Mullen. “What’s really exciting is we will be a bit more bold in how we talk and think about it. It’s really about representing Dell Technologies. If you think about the VMware growth inside Dell EMC partners, it’s been phonemical this year. … This is happening and it’s happening quickly.”

The Dell Technologies Advantage framework is expected to become fully operational in 2020.

The New Public Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies World 2019 will be the first major customer- and partner-facing event Dell will be hosting as a public entity. After nearly an entire year of debate, negotiations and even a lawsuit, Dell Technologies debuted on the New York Stock Exchange at $46 per share under the ticker symbol “DELL” on Dec. 28, 2018. The stock has steadily been climbing in price over the past four months and currently sits near an all-time-high of roughly $65 per share, exceeding several financial analysts’ early price target of $60.

Additionally, VMware’s stock is trading at a near all-time-high this week at around $196 per share. With the DELL stock performing better than expected and VMware market cap rising – now more than $80 billion -- attendees at Dell Technologies World should expect to hear some bullish thoughts about the company’s future as a publicly traded company.