Dell unveils new portfolio of mobility solutions and more

• New solutions streamline enterprise mobility management
• Partner program enhancements reinforce software commitment

IN line with its multi-year strategy to grow and scale the software division, Dell Inc made multiple announcements regarding its software portfolio at an event hosted in San Francisco recently.
 
“Dell is uniquely positioned to deliver highly differentiated, complete solutions – from clients to cloud and everything in between – that remove the barriers created by legacy technologies, while empowering customers and partners to unlock new business opportunities,” said John Swainson (pic), president, Dell Software.
 
“Software is the catalyst to modernizing today’s IT environments, enabling organizations to do more and achieve greater business results,” he added.
 
In the area of mobility, the company unveiled solutions under its Dell Mobility Solutions umbrella which accommodate Corporate-Owned, Choose-Your-Own and Bring-Your-Own Device (BYOD) management strategies while providing flexibility to interoperate with existing infrastructure and business applications.

According to Dell, these were designed to address a wide range of customers’ BYOD enablement strategies by making it easy to extend and manage mobile access, increase the security of data being accessed remotely, broaden network access to better support BYOD, and improve the user experience when accessing business applications from a variety of mobile devices.
 
The four mobility solutions are intended to help meet the following customer needs:

• Enable mobile access and applications: For IT directors who are managing PCs using traditional, on-premise system management tools, this solution enables secure access to enterprise applications and data from employees’ personally owned devices with minimal impact.

• Transformation to cloud: Mobile user experiences are enhanced by securely incorporating cloud computing and cloud-based services into mobile applications.

• Secure network access extensions: Secure network access from any location, whether on campus or remote, makes this solution suited for organizations with existing BYOD programs for smartphones and tablets that want to optimize their network infrastructure and provide application access without impacting existing infrastructure and compromising security.

• Modernize applications: This solution enables new and existing business applications to be extended to a wide variety of end-user devices while offering an improved user experience that can maintain or improve performance and availability.

Dell Software also has unveiled new endpoint security enhancements to simplify the protection of corporate data regardless of OS or device.
 
Dell KACE Management Appliances and Dell Quest User Workspace solutions, along with Dell Wyse Cloud Client Manager, offer a full range of endpoint security capabilities including remote imaging, configuration management and mobile device management.
 
New enhancements include:

• KACE K1000 Management Appliance: Designed to improve patch management with support for Windows 8 and Office 2012, expanded patch coverage and improved patch availability timelines.

• KACE 3000 Mobile Management Appliance: Now generally available, the KACE 3000 appliance extends established systems management to smartphones and tablets.

• Dell Wyse Client Cloud Manager: This latest release offers enhanced enterprise connectors and integration to Active Directory for automated user management and single sign-on capability. Dell Wyse Cloud Client Manager also includes enhanced mobile application management and integration to Dell Wyse Pocket cloud for managed remote access to corporate apps and data.

• Dell Data Protection | Encryption (DDP|E): A new cloud edition further expands Dell’s ability to secure data at the corporate edge – from endpoint to mobile and now cloud – enabling high levels of PC security.

• Dell Networking W-Series ClearPass: The latest version of Dell’s ClearPass, a highly integrated access management solution for managing BYOD, connects to existing networks to manage policies, securely onboard devices, admit guest users, display device usage and perform health assessments. ClearPass allows customers to run one network for both guests and employees while maintaining appropriate security and service levels without requiring manual IT intervention.

Dell also announced an enhancement to the structure of its PartnerDirect program to include software and enable the sale of end-to-end solutions through one simple channel program.
 
Resellers now will have specific requirements within PartnerDirect to become certified partners, including unique revenue thresholds to achieve Premier and Preferred Partner status.
 
These requirements will parallel existing requirements for hardware-focused Preferred and Premier Partners, and create opportunities for partners to sell just software or hardware, or a combination of both.
 
Partners focusing on a single line of business also will have a new path to achieve Premier status through advanced competency achievement, and service provider partners will have access to a new strategic program designed for their distinct business model.
 
Over the next several months, channel partners from Dell's acquired software companies will transition to the PartnerDirect program.
 
Four new software-related competencies with multiple learning paths for Security, Systems Management, Data Protection and Information Management will be launched later in the year.
 
In addition to Dell’s new mobility solutions and enhancements to its PartnerDirect channel program, Dell Software also announced Toad Business Intelligence Suite 2.0.
 
With this latest release, Toad Business Intelligence Suite delivers a host of enhancements designed to further facilitate self-service business intelligence across complex data environments.
 
In related news, Dell Services also announced Flexible WorkStyle Consulting to help customers embrace increasingly mobile work environments and the Dell ProSupport Enterprise Suite to assist customers in achieving the highest levels of performance and productivity for critical systems.
 
Gabey Goh reports from a press/analyst event in San Francisco, at Dell’s invitation
 
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