Dell channel drives vendor’s PC sales growth
Partners get a nod in comments made by senior executives on analyst calls after the firm shared its third-quarter results
Dell has highlighted the channel’s contribution in its client services business, which covers PCs, after the firm delivered its third-quarter numbers.
The firm’s results for the three months ended 29 October showed revenue of $28.4bn, representing a 21% year-on-year improvement. The vendor pointed to growth across all its business units, customer segments and geographies. Sales in commercial, consumer and product segments, including PCs, servers and storage, were also solid.
Chuck Whitten, co-chief operating officer at Dell Technologies, used an analyst call to underline that partners were one of the factors contributing to the client solutions group (CSG) seeing revenue climb by 35% to $16.5bn. Commercial revenue was a record $12.3bn, up 40%, and consumer revenue was up by 21% to $4.3bn.
In a call with analysts, Whitten said partners had played a role in delivering that growth in Q3. “In CSG, our differentiation comes from our unique direct sales motion and strategic channel programme,” he said.
“Our focus on the most stable and premium parts of the PC market and our strong attach motion, which captures the value around the device as customers seek exceptional experiences and improved productivity by buying more software and peripherals.”
Dell’s Infrastructure Solutions Group reported revenue of $8.4bn, a year-on-year improvement of 5%. Storage revenue edged up by 1% to $3.9bn, while servers and networking improved by 9% to $4.5bn.
Dell reported that customers were spending on IT infrastructure and there were growth opportunities around multicloud, telecom and 5G.
“Our ISG and CSG core businesses are attractive,” said Whitten. “They sit in large markets estimated at $67bn in total addressable market [TAM] and are projected to grow in the low single digits over the next few years. We have ample headroom for growth, a track record of gaining share, and are pursuing a differentiated strategy to consolidate and modernise our core business, including through our Apex-branded as-a-service solutions.
“Demand for our solutions remains strong as the global economic recovery and widespread digital transformation reset IT demand to higher levels.”
Dell is confident that it has the partner network and the product portfolio to tap into emerging market trends and keep long-term growth coming.
Tom Sweet, executive vice-president and CFO at Dell Technologies, said the company was in a position to ride the waves of digital change.
“The digital trends and real-time decision-making at the edge are tailwinds for our infrastructure business, and we continue to see differentiated opportunities in how we target and execute within the PC space,” he said. “These trends, along with our strategy and durable advantages, lead us to be optimistic about our long-term growth prospects.”
