Dell, Inc.
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Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is a computer manufacturer based in Round Rock, Texas.
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History
The company was founded by Michael Dell in 1984 under the name PC's Limited while he was a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin. The company became successful enough that he dropped out at the age of 19 to run the business full-time.
In 1985, Dell had designed its first computer of its very own design, which became known as the Dell Turbo, which contained a fast (at the time) Intel 8088 processor running at a speed of 8 megahertz. In 1987, the company became Dell Computer Corporation. Dell Computer is perhaps best known for the personal computers it designs, manufactures and sells for home and office use, but Dell is also in the enterprise computing market with servers, data storage devices, network switches and computer cluster lines. Personal Digital Assistants, software & peripherals, including printers, rounds out Dell's product offerings.
In 1999, Dell overtook Compaq to become the largest seller of personal computers in the United States. In 2002, Dell lost the lead to Hewlett-Packard, which acquired Compaq in 2002. In Q1 2003 Dell again regained the lead.
To recognize the company's expansion beyond computers, the stockholders approved changing the company name to Dell, Inc. at the annual company meeting in 2003.
The Dell direct business model, which eliminates the middleman, is known for its speed of sale-to-delivery of the company's products. Dell builds computers to order. This keeps its inventory costs low. Also, in this business model, the product is paid for before it is built. This gives Dell a negative cash conversion cycle.
A support division of Dell is Dell International Services.
In 2004, Kevin Rollins became Dell's next chief executive officer
Brands
Dell markets their products under many brand names, such as Optiplex, Dimension, Latitude, Inspiron, Precision and PowerEdge. Certain brand names are marketed to different consumer segments. The Optiplex, Latitude, and Precision names are typically marketed to mid and large business customers as they emphasize long life cycle, reliability and serviceability. Dimension, Inspiron, and XPS names are geared towards consumers, students, and small home office environments, emphasizing value, performance and expandability. Significant similiarities can be noted between products sold under these two market segments.
The XPS brand was recently introduced to target the lucrative gaming market. XPS desktop systems are blue rather than the black cases found on newer Dell PCs.
Software and operating systems
Dell ships Windows XP as the operating system for most of its new computers, but they also offer Red Hat and SuSE Linux for servers. Certain computers have been sold "bare-bones" with a FreeDOS disk included in the box. On Dell's Windows machines, Dell bundles a large number of software. There have been accusations that Dell ships spyware, that its technical support team is told not to support uninstallation of it.
Non computer products
Recently, Dell has expanded into non-computer products, including the Dell DJ (a portable MP3 player), USB keydrives, televisions, Pocket PCs, and printers.
Financial information
Dell was incorporated as a Texas corporation in 1984 with a capitalization of US$ 1000, the minimum allowed by Texas law. In Nov 2004, Dell, now a Delaware corporation, had a market capitalization of US$ 100 billion and revenues (FY 2003) of approximately US$ 40 billion. Dell stock is floated on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York under the symbol DELL.
Advertising
Dell advertises heavily on television, the internet, magazines and newspapers with constant special offers to encourage sales, since they do not sell their products in any retail environment. However, recently Dell has begun installing kiosks in major malls that show off their newest products, and allow you to order a product for shipment to your house. Still, many users insist Dell either sell in established stores such as Circuit City, or create their own stores such as Apple did.
A popular, widely parodied television and print ad campaign in the early 2000s featured young actor Ben Curtis playing the part of "Steven" - a cocky, and lightly mischievous blond-haired kid, who comes to the assistance of bereft computer purchasers. Each television advertisement usually ended with Steven's telltale phrase: "Dude, you're gettin' a DELL!"
Diversity
Dell received a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index released by the Human Rights Campaign starting in 2004, the third year of the report.
Support
Dell has an excellent support system.Its customers,facing any problems after the system is shipped,call up Dell Support and they receive all the troubleshooting help on the phone itself.
External links
de:Dell Computer ja:デル zh-cn:戴尔公司 sv:Dell
