Dell Financial Services: The other hybrid model under the tech behemoth banner
Dell Technologies' lesser-known business is its financial services and flexible consumption arm, which despite having been around since 1997, only started expanding outside of North America eight years ago.
Dell Financial Services (DFS) now operates in 23 countries as a full-financial services company, with a presence in a total of 50 countries through partnerships with other financial institutions.
DFS is a significant piece of Dell's operation. DFS boasts over $10 billion in assets -- which would put it around the top 5% of all US banks -- and in the last six months, DFS performed $3.7 billion-worth of transactions.
Speaking with ZDNet while in Australia last week, DFS president Bill Wavro said where his business fits in within an organisation's digital transformation is in situations where a customer wants to acquire technology; some of the key decisions that customers have outside the technology side of it, is how they're going to pay for it and how they're going to consume it.
DFS is essentially applying the principles of the on-demand economy to technology consumption.
Wavro believes this type of model could be the way of the future, with customers increasingly looking to consume technology in such a way.
See also: 5 trends driving end of ownership and growth of subscription economy
"CIOs -- they're not getting a lot bigger budgets, and so they're looking for ways to try to match that expenditure with their transformation strategy," he said. "All the costs can be put together into one payment plan that you can then work around your budget ... we're seeing that all up and down the stack.
"And I think it's probably now more than ever, just because of the massive need that CIOs and our customers have with this transformation pressure."
According to Wavro, a consumption-type model is a way to "democratise" technology, with the DFS president saying small to medium-sized enterprises often have the need to match costs with technology.
"Costs are different, but needs are still the same -- how do you fund these technology purchases and do it in a way that you're paying as you receive the benefit," he said.
Wavro said DFS somewhat bridges the gap between technology people and CFOs.
"We view ourselves as kind of a combination technical advisor and finance advisor -- we're a hybrid," he said.
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