The promise of digital: We can change the world

With those words, Michael Dell started his keynote at Dell EMC World, held in Las Vegas earlier this year. More than 13,500 people attended the event, ready to learn how they can take their transformations forward.

To me, it served as a reminder of what we can do and what is at stake. Later, back in South Africa, I spoke to renowned analyst Arthur Goldstuck, who also attended the conference. He said something very true and crucial: there are no more excuses.

The future is being built on digital transformation. The tools and platforms are out there. What remains is for companies and countries to grab the bull by the horns and make the change.

Easier said than done

I completely agree with him. But it is easier said than done. Many still struggle to start and maintain the journey to this new era. That’s because it is a fundamental challenge.

Digital transformation is not a bolt-on to a business. It starts at the foundation and works its way through the entire organisation. It is both top-down and grassroots. It is corporate, functional, and operational. The business vision remains intact, but everything about how it will realise that vision changes. This is a daunting shift.

That problem stayed with me long after the event. Dell Technologies, which emerged from the highly successful combination between Dell and EMC, is a leader in this transformation. The high utilisation of our services and solutions prove that. But this brings a certain responsibility as well: if we expect the world to change, we must help lead and define that change. Our customers - current and future - look to us for guidance.

What I have to ask is how can Dell EMC be a partner for South Africa’s digital transformation?

IT maturity is key

IT maturity is key. You can’t simply flip a switch and digital magic appears. But it shouldn’t be as complicated and daunting as it appears either. The primary outcome is to get businesses away from the burden of technology procurement and maintenance, and back to what they do best. In the Dell EMC hallways, we call this 'radical infrastructure simplicity'. Through a variety of products, we are equipped to create the digital foundations businesses can build on.

An often-cited example is our 'hyper-converged infrastructure', whichdeliversr turnkey systems ready for digital services to be deployed on them with the littlest of fuss. But we need to go further, which is why we have introduced elastic financing models such as 'financial services flex'. We don’t want upfront costs to drain your digital ambition, so we have designed industry-first financing solutions that cater for every type and size of business.

Another example, announced at the Las Vegas gathering, is PC-as-a-Service. This offering takes advantage of Dell EMC’s consumer devices to equip staff with top computer systems without the hefty capital layout.

Let’s be honest: change is not cheap and this is keeping many companies, particularly smaller businesses, from transforming.

Both of the aforementioned services are here to take that pain away.

The brass ring

It is obvious that I want to promote what Dell EMC offers the market. But this is not my primary goal. That question of how we can help accelerate digital transformation in South Africa remains the brass ring. I am just fortunate to lead the local office of a very dynamic and progressive company.

Dell EMC has a vast ecosystem, and is rich for its extensive investments in consultation, methodology research and toolsets. We were early evangelists for cloud and pioneers of cloud management and infrastructure. Today that expertise spans across seven major companies, modernising data centres, improving security, driving virtualisation and much more.

Arthur Goldstuck was right: there are no excuses. But to me, there are no excuses for us, Dell EMC, to help you change your business and your world for the better. This is the commitment I reaffirmed after Dell EMC World 2017: we all really can change the world and Dell EMC will be there to help every step of the way.