Dell Technologies is striding into a dynamic, collaborative 5G future, as it continues to move way beyond its traditional role as a provider of enterprise IT
The company is now an established strategic partner to a number of telecom firms, helping them modernise their networks, and also to monetise them, by generating new revenue streams.
One of Dell’s customers is T-Mobile, with whom it has been engaged in an innovation-driven relationship for many years.
Historically, Dell’s focus has been on supporting T-Mobile’s IT and network requirements, through its storage, server and client solutions.
“But we’ve now elevated our strategic partnership above this,” says Dell’s Telco Global Sales Leader, Scott Cohen, who has been helping sales teams sell network infrastructure to telecom providers since early 2000.
“We’re now also collaborating on monetising 5G in the market, as well as on network innovations,” Cohen adds.
Key among these is the 5G Innovation Lab, which launched early in January 2022. This has seen Dell and T-Mobile partner to unlock 5G capabilities for enterprises and consumers.
“5G has the ability to change the world,” says Cohen. “But use-cases around higher bandwidth, lower latency, and IoT have yet to be flushed out. The 5G Innovation Lab will accelerate this innovation.”
With the transition from 4G (closed architecture) to 5G (open architecture) Dell is well placed to apply its 5G know-how to the wider telecom market.
“We’re a US$100bn company with 165,000 employees,” says Cohen. “For this transformation to happen it takes a business with scale and commitment to enter the ecosystem.
“Dell is one of very few companies globally that can play this role effectively. We command one of the world’s largest supply chains and our technology is ubiquitous in enterprises. The market is coming towards our core competencies, and we plan to respond."
Dell being a founder-led company gives it a further edge on its competitors, Cohen points out.
“This transformation will require stability and long-term commitment. Michael Dell is CEO and Chairman, and will fulfil our commitment to 5G. At other companies, the leadership will change and so will corporate priorities. We are in it for the long haul.”
The long-haul being a minimum of ten years, which is the investment cycle to which Michael Dell has committed. Cohen says Dell’s CEO “will bring all assets to bear to enable and accelerate this process of transformation”.
Among Dell’s plans for future 5G telecom collaborations are:
- Commitment to anchoring an open ecosystem.
- Accelerating telecom innovation through IT and network transformations.
- Capturing 5G revenue growth by working with telecom providers, not in competition with them.
As for its ongoing relationship with T-Mobile, Cohen says “the sky’s the limit” on what the companies can achieve together.
“Given our mutual appetite to disrupt, I think big things await across all aspects of our partnership, including IT, network, and edge.”
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