Dell NC strategy backs Microsoft

Direct vendor favours Net PC concept in launch of Managed PC range

Dell?s Managed PC strategy looks set to bring the direct vendor closer to systems integrators.

The manufacturer has thrown its weight behind Microsoft and Intel?s attack on the network computer (NC) with the concept of the Managed PC, along with Hewlett Packard and Compaq.

Dell desktop marketing manager Ray Badminton predicted that the systems integrators Dell used to service large accounts could expect more business as the vendor rolled out its Managed PC road-map.

?As corporates move to Net PCs, systems integrators will have an increasingly important part to play,? he said.

Dell?s product road-map included PCs configured to allow remote management from a central server, reducing the need for on-site maintenance and upgrades.

The latest reference specifications for the planned NC standard were launched in May: machines must have a minimum of a 100MHz processor and 16Mb of Ram. Dell?s Managed PCs will be launched in the UK at Networks 97 at the end of the month.

Badminton said Dell would be targeting companies in the Fortune 500 market, in competition with Sun?s Java Stations. He claimed Net PCs did not require the same infrastructure overhaul required by the NC, and would prove cheaper to install and maintain.

?The NC concept may look good on paper in terms of cost of ownership, but the model requires a massive investment in redesigning the infrastructure, from the server level upwards. We recognise that corporates want low-maintenance boxes, but why invest several thousands of pounds to do this??

Paul Phillips, MD of Kent-based systems integrator Information Systems Group, said: ?We are excited about this initiative. This new box will allow systems integrators working with Dell to move into new markets and take on more work.?