Organizations are struggling with IT infrastructure as they deploy multiple solutions that are complex to manage. They want a consistent cloud experience across multiple clouds and the ability to manage it all with a single web interface. They want self-service provisioning and the ability to scale infrastructure on demand, with OPEX flexibility. Responding to this, Dell Technologies is expanding its as-a-Service capabilities with Project APEX to simplify how customers and partners access its solutions on-demand — across storage, servers, networking, hyperconverged infrastructure, PCs, and broader solutions. However, these new solutions will roll out to customers in mid-2021 and are now available only for preview. US customers will have access to these solutions in Q1 2021 (See Availability). APEX will only work with Dell Technologies and VMware solutions for now, though a Dell spokesperson said that services and solutions from other companies will be integrated via APIs and a market place later. It may be recalled that Dell Technologies on Demand was announced last year, and Project APEX may be regarded as an enhancement, adding more as-a-service capabilities.
Project APEX will unify the company’s as-a-Service and cloud strategies, technology offerings, and go-to-market efforts. Businesses will have a consistent as-a-Service experience wherever they run workloads including on-premises, edge locations and public clouds.
“Project APEX will give our customers choice, simplicity and a consistent experience across PCs and IT infrastructure from one trusted partner—unmatched in the industry,” said Jeff Clarke, chief operating officer and vice chairman, Dell Technologies. “We’re building upon our long history of offering on-demand technology with this initiative. Our goal is to give customers the freedom to scale resources in ways that work best for them, so they can quickly respond to changes and focus less on IT and more on their business needs.”
There are four components to Project APEX:
- Cloud Console
- Storage-as-a-Service (STaaS)
- DT Cloud Platform Workload Instances
- Flex on Demand Updates
“By the end of 2021, the agility and adaptability that comes with as-a-Service consumption will drive a 3X increase in demand for on-premises infrastructure delivered via flexible consumption/as-a-Service solutions,” Rick Villars, group vice president, Worldwide Research at IDC.
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Dell Technologies as-a-Service and cloud advancements
The new Dell Technologies Cloud Console will provide the foundation for Project APEX and will deliver a single, seamless experience for customers to manage their cloud and as-a-Service journey. Businesses can browse the marketplace and order cloud services and as-a-Service solutions to quickly address their needs. With a few clicks, customers can deploy workloads, manage their multi-cloud resources, monitor their costs in real-time and add capabilities.
Storage-as-a-Service
Available in the first half of next year, Dell Technologies Storage as-a-Service (STaaS) is an on-premises, as-a-Service portfolio of scalable and elastic storage resources that will offer block and file data services and a broad range of enterprise-class features. STaaS is designed for OPEX transactions and allows customers to easily manage their STaaS resources via the Dell Technologies Cloud Console.
DT Cloud Platform
Dell continues to expand its Dell Technologies Cloud and as-a-Service offerings with additional advances:
- Dell Technologies Cloud Platform instance-based offerings— Customers can get started with hybrid cloud for as low as $47 per instance per month2 with subscription pricing, making it easy to buy and scale cloud resources with pre-defined configurations through the new Dell Technologies Cloud Console.
- Geographic Expansions— Dell Technologies is extending Dell Technologies Cloud Platform subscription availability to the United Kingdom, France and Germany with further global expansion coming soon.
- Dell Technologies Cloud PowerProtect for Multi-cloud— This fully-managed service helps customers protect their data and applications across public clouds in a single destination via a low latency connection to the major public clouds. Businesses save costs through the PowerProtect appliance’s deduplication technology and realize additional savings with zero egress fees when retrieving their data from Microsoft Azure.
- Pre-approved Flex On-Demand pricing— The pre-configured pricing makes it simpler for customers to select and deploy Dell Technologies solutions with a pay-per-use experience. Dell Technologies partners globally will receive a rebate up to 20% on Flex On Demand solutions.
Continued sustainability focus
Dell Technologies Project APEX will help companies retire infrastructure in a secure and environmentally friendly manner. Dell manages the return and refurbishing of used IT gear while also helping to support customers’ own sustainability goals. The company is making additional strides in achieving its Progress Made Real goals by:
- Reselling 100% of the returned leased assets.
- Refurbishing and reselling 89% of working assets in the North America and EMEA regions.
- Reselling 10% of non-working assets to Environmental Disposal Partners who repair, reuse, resell and recycle each asset. Last year, Dell recycled 240,257 kilograms of metal, glass and plastics through this program.
- Helping customers resell or recycle their excess hardware and prepare to return leased equipment in a secure and environmentally conscious manner through Dell Asset Resale & Recycling Services.
Availability
- Dell Tech Cloud Console is available now as a public preview in the United States with EMEA availability planned for the first quarter of 2021, and Asia Pacific & Japan’s planned from the first half of 2021.
- Dell Technologies Storage as-a-Service will be available in the U.S. in the first half of 2021.
- Dell Technologies Cloud Platform instance-based offerings with subscription pricing are available in the United States, France, Germany and the UK, with Asia Pacific & Japan availability planned from the first half of 2021. Dell Technologies Cloud PowerProtect for Multi-cloud is now available in the U.S., UK and Germany.
- Flex On Demand is available in select countries in North America, Europe, Latin America and the Asia Pacific & Japan region.
DIGITAL CREED is attending Dell Technologies World 2020 (Virtual) on 21 and 22 October. Stay tuned for more reports on this website.
