Future Plans for the Cloud

Future Plans for the Cloud

Dell and VMware have plenty of other plans for the new cloud environment, Bilger said.

"In 2012, it's our intention is to offer Microsoft Azure and open-source public cloud offerings," Bilger said. "We also intend to migrate some of our other Dell software packages into this cloud, such as MessageOne [a broadcast messaging service used in emergency situations, acquired in 2008]. In the health care space, we have a product called InsightOne, which is a medical imagining solution that we will be migrating over to the Dell Cloud in the next 12 or 18 months."

Dell's Cloud integrated CRM solution is available starting Aug. 30 in the U.S. Package pricing including Saleforce.com and Dell Boomi integration starts at $565 per month. Pricing for Dell implementation services packages start at $5,000. Dell's Cloud Integrated Analytics service will be available in the first half of 2012. These are the first in a series of public and hybrid cloud announcements to come out over the next several quarters, Bilger said.

Analysts Have Their Say

Is Dell making the right move?

"Given that a growing proportion of organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry is considering cloud-alternatives, Dell has to keep pace with its customers' evolving needs and demands," analyst Jeff Kaplan of ThinkStrategies told eWEEK. "Dell brings many competitive advantages to the market.

"First, Dell's systems have been used by major cloud vendors, such as Amazon and Google, for years. Second, Dell has also been a pioneer in the eCommerce business and a channel to market for third-party software products sold via its online business for many years as well. Finally, Dell's greatest innovation over the years has been its ability to aggregate and automate the assembly and delivery of systems which can be easily administered by its customers. These are also the essential ingredients for supplying successful cloud solutions."

In addition to having the systems to power cloud services, Kaplan said, Dell has the domain expertise to respond to industry-specific requirements through its Perot Systems division. "Adding a 'marketplace' of third-party SaaS solutions can make Dell a key player in the cloud market," Kaplan said.

"Dell's steady march into the cloud, adding a variety of solutions for different categories of Cloud buyers, is rational and well-considered," Mike West, vice president and distinguished analyst at Saugatuck Technology, told eWEEK. "We feel sure that Dell has other solutions waiting in the wings that will generate similar appeal.

"Targeting SMB buyers, Dell offers not only cloud application solutions in the categories these customers would want, but also the capability to integrate them and link to the buyers' on-premise environments. Especially interesting is the potential for combining solutions in an ad hoc suite context with Dell providing support and 'one throat to choke' in case anything goes wrong, which will strongly appeal to their buyers," he said.