UPDATED: The past seven months have been excruciating on the economy, on businesses, customers, and employees. Many industries were severely impacted, with millions of employees losing their jobs. But executives delivering keynotes at Dell Technologies World 2020 Digital Experience (21 – 22 October) were full of optimism about the future. They spoke about the new ways in which we will live, work, and learn; about the huge transformation in industries like health care, education, banking, government, transportation, logistics, and manufacturing. Then they spoke about the enabling technologies and futuristic applications. In the decentralized and distributed work model, the processing is moving from the cloud to the edge – nearer to customers and consumers. New applications like augmented reality, for instance, will require greater processing at the edge. With the core or real-time processing done on the edge, a lot of data will be generated and moved to the cloud, for further analysis and processing. And the link between the edge and the cloud will be 5G connectivity, which Dell is counting on through its partnership with Verizon Communications. In fact, Dell is betting on six core technologies: Hybrid Cloud, Security, AI/ML, Edge, 5G, and Data Management. Dell also wants to make it easier for customers to access all technologies (and all clouds) through a simple interface, with self-service, on-demand access, scalability, and flexible OPEX payment – and it announced Project Apex to enable all this.
In the opening keynote, Michael Dell, Chairman & CEO, Dell Technologies said, “Technology has never been more essential than it is right now. For many, digital three-year plans got done in three months. We’re having a glimpse into the future and the organizations that are investing in that future have the advantage. The digital transformation will only accelerate from here with the combination of massive computing power, 5G, and AI. It is like a machine; the glue for that machine is data. As everything in the physical world becomes intelligent and connected the amount and relevance of data will continue to explode. These innovations together are the fourth industrial revolution. It will require all of us to reimagine every aspect of what we do. The data era is here and to win, organizations need to accelerate the digital transformation.”
Mr. Dell also said a highly distributed workforce “broadens the reach of opportunity.” He and other executives lauded the advances in telemedicine and long-distance learning which were accelerated in past months. “It’s not one size fits all. But overall, we’ve just jumped ahead to a more digital future, and we’re not going back. When we invest now, we’ll emerge in a dramatically better position for the future we all want. And we’re here to help,” said Mr. Dell.
Jeff Clarke, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman, Dell Technologies
Jeff Clarke, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman, Dell Technologies said, “The future is now. The future is distributed and remote working and learning is constantly connected and digitally transformed, enabled by distributed computing and analytics and real-time outcomes at the edge. It is clear to me that the role of IT has become more critical through this (past months), and even more so as we look at the next three years of digital transformation with wide-scale connectivity with 5G, data-driven insights, automation and embedded intelligence; smart factories, cities, hospitals and schools; these outcomes are transformative for society, health care and education, and for business. The edge will become the center of gravity for digital transformation.”
Clarke said, in the next four years he expects an 800% increase in apps at the edge. Quoting a study by IDC he said, by 2025, 75% of enterprise-generated data will be created outside of the traditional data center and cloud. 52% of global GDP will be digital by 2023.
“This is the ultimate disaggregation of data, moving at high speed further away from traditional core data centers, requiring hybrid cloud architectures that enable data visibility and management at the edge,” said Clarke.
Betting on 5G
Dell Technologies’ top leadership mentioned the intelligent edge and 5G in their keynotes. In fact, Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware went so far as to say: “5G will be the new Wi-Fi in the enterprise”. Gelsinger is a co-inventor of the Wi-Fi standard.
Dell Technologies has partnered with Verizon Communications to enable 5G enterprise applications. Michael Dell spoke about 5G which will extend the cloud to the mobile edge. He lauded Verizon for its work in connecting organizations, welcoming the CEO of Verizon business to speak about the opportunities presented by the 5G era. Today 5G ultrawideband is available in 36 US cities and by the end of the year, it will be 60 cities.
Tami Erwin, CEO, Verizon Business
Delivering her keynote, Tami Erwin, CEO, Verizon Business said, “The proliferation of data-driven intelligence at the edge is game-changing. It will provide greater levels of efficiency, will bring customers closer to you, and it will allow for the development of applications and solutions we have never even thought of. This won’t just be an evolution — it will be a revolution with the potential to cause seismic changes in how people live, work, and play.”
Erwin said 5G is 10x faster than 4G. It offers robust bandwidth to handle data volumes that are 100 times larger and the ability to connect over a million devices or sensors per square kilometer. She mentioned 5G enabled applications like driverless cars, mobile gaming, remote telemedicine, and autonomous robotics. Cities will use 5G for smart streetlights, remote security monitoring, intelligent transit, and smart parking solutions. 5G will also transform supply chains.
In April of 2019, Verizon became the first company in the world to launch a commercial 5G mobility network and turned on its 5G millimeter-wave Ultra Wideband Network in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis. Today it has introduced 5G Ultra Wideband in 36 US cities with a commitment to get to 60 by the end of the year.
But analysts say the widespread adoption of 5G will take longer and involve high costs. The US Government has blocked technology from Chinese vendors like Huawei and ZTE — both have far superior 5G technology. That means telcos have to procure equipment from alternate vendors (like Nokia and Ericsson), which is viewed as a time consuming and costly exercise.
Dell Technologies World
Dell Technologies World is an annual event to showcase products, services, and technologies under the Dell umbrella of companies. Dell executives and customers show how industries are benefitting from Dell’s products and solutions. Dell also uses this event to announce its investments in new integrated solutions that it will launch in the months ahead. For customers, developers, partners, and the media, this event also gives a glimpse into the exciting technologies that are coming our way — and how these will be supported with Dell’s platforms and technologies. The annual event is usually held in Las Vegas, but this year, the event (21 – 22 October) had to go virtual, perhaps for the first time in Dell Technologies’ history.
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Brian Pereira attended and reported on Dell Technologies World from Las Vegas in the past. This year he was spared the jet lag and attended the virtual event and the press conferences between October 20 – 22.