Dell’s latest PC portfolio is optimised for remote productivity

• New Latitude, Precision laptops come with Dell Optimizer AI technology
• Dell COO predicts 50% professional workforce to work remotely post pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has created a landscape where remote productivity tools and computers are more important than ever. As businesses begin to embrace remote work and work from home culture, there is a need for computers that help make work more efficient and safe.

As it appears, Dell Technologies’ new slate of Latitude, Precision and OptiPlex PCs – which are recently introduced in Malaysia – are optimised for just that. I say optimised, because the latest portfolio here now feature Dell Optimizer, the company’s automated artificial intelligence (AI)-based optimisation technology.

This is a built-in software that learns how each person works and adapts to their behaviour over time, working behind the scenes to eventually improve overall application performance. It’s kind of cool – in time, Dell Optimizer can, for instance, automatically tune a system’s audio in a way that takes external environment into account. Basically, it will provide the clearest conference audio possible in any given location.

The system will also analyse users’ power usage habits, and then does things like charge a laptop faster when the user needs a boost in power, or to extend run time when needed. More interesting is Express Sign-In, which streamline logins using Windows Hello or IR bio-authentication methods, to make for speedier logins. This aspect of Optimizer can lock a laptop immediately when the user leaves the laptop.

Dell Optimizer, which has been available in some of the Precision laptops before this, is now available across the new Latitude portfolio, as well as the OptiPlex 5000 and 7000-series computers. They are available on default on these devices.

“The PC plays a central role in how we reimagine the way we work, even anticipating what we need to be more productive,” says Dell Technologies’ country manager for Malaysia KT Ong.

“From the moment you log on to your last video conference of the day, you need a PC that adapts to the way you work. That’s why we are driving innovations that offer more intelligence, longer battery life, powerful speakerphones and compact designs — all while moving our sustainability goals forward.”

Achieving new Latitudes

Dell Optimizer will be available across the new Latitude PCs, which now includes the new, ultra-premium 9000 series. The Latitude 9510 in particular is a 15-inch business 2-in-1 that offers a hefty 34 hours of battery life in its highly thin and 1.4kg design. The laptop is powered by 10th Gen Intel vPro processors and comes with Wi-Fi 6. It prices from US$1,860 (RM7,926).

The Latitude 7000-series have also been completely redesigned, and features the machined and brushed aluminium design also seen on the 9000-series. The Latitude 7410 and 7310 are slim 14-inch and 13-inch premium business laptops. The former in particular can be configured as a 2-in-1, and features the option of a 4K blue light screen. They price from RM6,151 and RM5,381 respectively.

[RM1 = US$0.23]

The Precision range of mobile workstations are also seeing new inclusions, and are designed with smaller footprints housing NVIDIA graphics and 10^th-Gen Intel Core vPro and Xeon processors. The standout devices here are Dell Precision 5550 and 5750 – small, thin 15-inch and 17-inch mobile workstations that feature a 16:10 aspect ratio InfinityEdge display.

The 5750 is also VR/AR and AI-Ready to handle fast rendering and complex simulations. The Precision 5550 and 5750 are priced from RM9,419 and RM10,419 respectively.

Optimising themselves

Beyond ensuring that the remote workforce are equipped with strong productivity tools, Dell is also looking to strengthen its own remote workforce. As part of the “New Normal” going forward, Dell will be leaning more into flexible work – an aspect that it was already well into before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

According to Jeff Clarke (pic), chief operating officer and vice chairman, Dell Technologies, 65% of their team members were leveraging on Dell’s flexible work policies and 30% have been working remotely on any given day, all before the company’s March 15 announcement of a global work-from-home policy. Today, more than 90% of their workforce is remote.

Clarke notes that the remote workforce is here to stay, citing a 451 Research study that finds approximately 40% of organisations expect expanded work from home policies to remain in place long-term or permanently.

Dell’s own pulse survey among customers validates this view – 40% stated that they’ll shift to a more robust WFH environment. “I’d go a step further and predict upwards of 50% of the professional workforce will work remotely post pandemic – those who predominantly work on a PC for day to day work. Of course, this will vary across organisations and industries, notably in jobs where being on-site and on the front lines is a requirement,” Clarke notes in a press statement.