Dell: the Right Choice for Small Business Because the Soul of Dell is Small Business

Michael Dell started what is now Dell,Inc. over 25 years ago while attending the University of Texas as a pre-med student. Just like the hundreds of small businesses that open every day, Michael’s first company, PC’s Limited, began humbly as a one-man operation on not much more than $1,000 in capital, with Michael providing computer upgrades from his college dorm room. The future billionaire started with a simple idea, the support of friends and family, and his personal hope, faith, dedication, and ingenuity.

If you run a small business, chances are that just like Michael Dell you recognized a need in the marketplace and believed that you could meet it. Michael believed that by helping others resolve their computer problems he would be able to also provide for himself and build his company. In this brief interview, he describes the growing pains common to many small businesses. As with any new company, as the revenue, profit, customer base, and responsibilities increased, so did the need to expand, hire more employees, and acquire the technology necessary to run the operation efficiently and keep customers satisfied.

The good news for small business owners is that Dell has not lost touch with its humble origins. Despite being a multi-billion dollar corporation, elements of Dell still operate much like the small business that Michael started in his college dorm room. As an example, many inside sales teams at Dell operate similarly to companies of 10 to 25 people, with a manager, several specialists or subject matter experts, and 10 to 15 individual sales makers. Those teams may be supported by operations and financial or marketing teams, much like a small business may rely on the owner, a manager, an administrative staff, a sales, service and manufacturing team, a bookkeeper or an outside accountant, and an advertising firm or an inside marketer to help generate business.

However, one key advantage that Dell has over most small businesses is the technology tools they have in place. A high percentage of small businesses still run on a peer-to-peer network of individual workstations, while using outdated back office and security software. To complicate matters further, employees might be accessing a shared Internet connection, have few if any mobile devices connected to the network, and likely have no dedicated file and print, e-mail, or database server. Even more critical is the lack of a dedicated data backup or data storage and restoration solution. Sadly, many businesses that suffer a significant data breach due to malicious activity or simple technology failure often never recover, and in some cases, the business owner could suffer personally from civil litigation.

In short, for one reason or another, most small businesses today do not have ready access to the technology necessary to keep their companies functioning at maximum efficiency while minimizing risk, reducing excess workloads, providing for growth, and allowing everyone to enjoy a reasonable work-life balance while keeping customers happy.

For instance, many Internet providers offer high-speed broadband Internet connectivity for what amounts to a few dollars per day. In addition, not only offers 24/7/365 mission-critical or next-business-day technical support and service options, Dell has an army of experts ready to offer pre-sales advice as well. Dell also sells all of the printers workstation, server, security, mobile hardware, and storage solutions necessary for archiving, backup, and restoration to keep any small business operating for years to come. For customers who prefer to work with a local value-added reseller, or are required to because of policy, Dell has strategic relationships with multiple channel partners. Better yet, investing in the basics necessary to obtain high-end technology to support a small business does not have to be complicated or break the bank.

On April 14, 2011, Dell announcement highlighted the technology refresh of two Intel family processor-based small business servers: the Dell PowerEdge R210 II and PowerEdge T110 II. These updated servers offer improved performance, greater security and more connectivity options with greater speed than a simple desktop used as a low-end file, print, e-mail, and Web server on a peer-to-peer network. Researching and purchasing the right first server for your small business does not have to be difficult, confusing, complicated or expensive.

Dell offers an array of pre-sales support resources through telephone and online-chat, as well as excellent . If you have questions about how Dell can help automate, secure, and make your small business more profitable—so you and your employees can enjoy a better work-life balance—contact a Dell representative today.

About the Author: John Barnhart