Our Dell Technologies World download

Please note: This post was written by Highlander prior to their rebrand to FluidOne Business IT - Sheffield.

Earlier this month I was delighted to once again attend the incredible Dell Technologies World, the industry giant’s annual conference. An event that attracts an audience on a global scale, it was somewhat fitting that it should be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, a city famed for its themed hotels and attractions inspired by major cities from all over the world.

Despite having attended last year, it’s fair to say I was still blown away by the sheer scale of the event, with over 15,000 people visiting across the 3 days. As well as a fantastic opportunity to network with representatives from like minded businesses operating across the channel, it was also a chance to catch an early glimpse of the latest innovations from Dell Technologies, and it’s fair to say they did not disappoint.

Alongside the usual stream of product updates, there was a host of hugely significant announcements focused on Dell’s cloud offering, as well a drive towards increased unification, not just between the various individual Dell brands, but also with other major technology vendors in a bid to simplify and streamline the management of the core pillars of IT. With this in mind, here are 3 things that really caught my eye.

One exciting development was the release of Dell Technologies Cloud, a new solution built around VMware software that harnesses Dell EMC infrastructure to create a consistent approach to managing your entire storage environment, using either Dell Cloud Platforms for multi-cloud management, or the on-premise VMware on Dell EMC solution.

With Dell Cloud Platforms, you can easily manage your multi-cloud environment through a single VMware portal, simplifying operations with the use of familiar tool to control consumption-based cloud offerings.

Labelled as ‘Datacentre as a Service’, VMware on Dell EMC is designed as a competitor to HPE’s popular GreenLake platform, delivering a cloud-like storage model with the flexibility to easily scale-up or scale-out when needed alongside all the security and control of on-premise infrastructure.

Through a combination of VMware management software and Dell EMC storage hardware, you can easily create your own on-premise cloud-like environment geared to match your existing workloads. Those in attendance at the event were given a short demonstration of the platform and it was immediately evident just how easy it was to scale-up just-in-time. With new hardware spec’d, configured, and ordered within minutes, it perfectly showcased the level of agility offered by the ease of such provisioning.

One of the overriding themes of the entire conference was a push towards unification, bringing the various Dell brands together as a single entity, collaborating to deliver broader technology solutions across a range of different areas.

In this vein, Dell unveiled Unified Workspace, an all-encompassing device solution that radically simplifies lifecycle management. Unified Workspace is built around the popular VMware Workspace ONE device management platform and combines world-leading Dell hardware with the extensive SecureWorks security offering to provide a complete device solution that streamlines deployment, management, and maintenance.

We love solutions that simplify IT for our customers, and we’re excited by the potential of Unified Workspace to deliver greater visibility into end-user computing behaviour, whilst also allowing you to manage every endpoint through a single interface. You’ll be able to better understand exactly how your users are working, helping you make informed decisions on their future devices. These are then deployed pre-installed with all of the key applications and configurations you need and supplied through the existing PC as a Service (PCaaS) subscription-based offering from Dell. Talk about uncomplicated!

If you’ve read our previous blogs, you’ll know that the concept of embracing the cloud is increasingly becoming a requirement, not a choice. Even customers who have yet to experience cloud have already decided that they need to migrate, and their decision is now focused more on identifying the best route to get there. This has led some of the world’s foremost technology companies to seek collaboration with each other to create more complete offerings. Unsurprisingly, Dell is no different, announcing a ground-breaking three-way partnership alongside VMware and Microsoft and paving the way for future innovation on a wider scale, starting with the integration of VMware in Azure.

As a result, you’ll now be able to run VMware workloads through Azure, with both services covered by a single monthly bill. This effectively creates a VMware as a Service offering for Azure customers looking to use the world’s leading hypervisor as part of their cloud strategy, and we’re very excited to see what this development means for our customers going forward. As an established Microsoft CSP, Highlander already has significant skills building solutions in Azure and offering a consolidated billing and management platform for our customers.

To learn more about the extensive range of Dell solutions explored at Dell Technologies World, including Cloud Platforms or VMware Azure integration, get in touch with a member of the team.