© 2014 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Bringing a Portfolio to Build Real-world Solutions

Dell has quietly assembled a versatile array of products and services to tackle the requirements of midmarket companies and enterprise groups looking to deploy new capabilities for big data and analytics. Now its vision will be rolled out to customers as a faster way to extract value from various data sources. The complete story includes:

Complementary software tools that include the recently acquired Statistica as the analytic centerpiece, alongside Boomi for data mapping, ETL, and cloud data integration; TOAD and SharePlex for data management; and Toad BI and Kitenga for business intelligence and discovery (see Figure 1). This range effectively spans the requirements for organizations that already have an enterprise data platform, data warehouses, or just a bunch of databases, but need to combine the elements for more readily usable analysis and visualization.

Dell servers, storage, and networking equipment to form the underlying hardware infrastructure for on-premises deployments. With a set of blueprint architectures to eliminate the effort and risk of evaluating, assembling, and integrating various components, customers will be able to find a stack that suits their requirements and get to the business of data science faster (and more safely) than they could otherwise.

Targeted professional services practices to help clients accomplish their own data analytics initiatives. Most organizations find it challenging to marshal the “know-how” to design, vet, and deploy complex big data environments. Dell has hired and trained teams of experts to accelerate time to value and to, again, reduce the risk of missteps along the way.

Solution Brief

Dell’s Big Picture for Big Data and Analytics

Date: June 2014 Author: Nik Rouda, Senior Analyst

Abstract: Dell has shared a new vision for big data and analytics solutions, which is well positioned to utilize the company’s broad portfolio of software, hardware, and services offerings. The new focus on building a complete technology stack for midmarket and departmental environments will be well received by a segment of the market that has been underserved. More development of specific functionality for identified vertical and line-of-business use cases will further accelerate Dell’s growth compared with more niche competitors.

Figure 1. Dell’s Hardware and Software Stack for Big Data and Analytics

Source: Dell, 2014.

Solution Brief: Dell’s Big Picture for Big Data and Analytics 2

© 2014 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Any one of these angles would be a worthy approach to delivering big data solutions, but by bringing all three together with an emphasis on real customer outcomes, Dell is now ready to take on both large, traditional players in BI and analytics, as well as more specialized startups with hot technology but only one piece of the puzzle.

Filling a Gap in the Big Data and Analytics Marketplace

A large enterprise may have many challenges in developing and rolling out new big data applications and infrastructures, including difficulties of data integration, sprawling unconsolidated databases, and siloed departments each pursuing their own agenda. But a large enterprise would also be able to bring many resources to address the problem, and would have other large technology vendors and systems integrators gunning to get involved and help. These same challenges exist in midmarket companies, but they don’t have the same luxuries and resources, compounding the difficulty and reducing the likelihood of success. ESG research shows that many groups simply don’t have enough of the relevant skills in-house to undertake all their objectives, and this is impacting their results (see Table 1).1

Table 1. Companies Reporting Skills Shortages That Impact Business Results

Technology Discipline Percent with Skills or Staffing Gaps

IT Architecture and Planning 24%

Business Intelligence and Analytics 20%

Database Administration 17% Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2014.

This means that these companies will be looking for shortcuts to get where they want to be with big data and analytics, including:

Deploying more complete, more robust analytics tools, and avoiding having to piecemeal together too many distinct offerings. With many preexisting data sources and business intelligence tools in place today, companies will want to consolidate their information into a central clearinghouse for more versatile analysis. Statistica, with its advanced analytics functionality, connectors, and built-in repository, could well serve as that focal point for a mid-size company or large department.

Finding a simpler and quicker way to build a supporting infrastructure, sometimes looking for a certified mix of compatible components, sometimes wanting a premade appliance, and sometimes considering cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). Dell’s big data hardware blueprints will prove attractive in this area, and not just shorten time to production, but also improve administration and supportability with a single supplier.

Leveraging external help, from people who have delivered successfully before, and learned the hard lessons of what will be most effective. Dell is well known for both strategic and tactical services capabilities, and has assisted many organizations in all industries in shaping and setting up a workable “turnkey” solution.

Taken individually or together, these three modes of attack will certainly prove effective in reducing risk and time to market for an underserved yet very sizable pool of prospective clients.

1 Source: ESG Research Report, 2014 IT Spending Intentions Survey, February 2014.

Solution Brief: Dell’s Big Picture for Big Data and Analytics 3

© 2014 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Next Steps for Dell to Realize Its Full Potential

While presenting a compelling story and meaningful business value today, Dell still has some areas for improvement if it truly wants to dominate in the rapidly evolving big data and analytics landscape. Specifically, more work should be done to:

Integrate the software portfolio, both between the products listed and with many third-party tools. Dell can continue to develop functionality and tighten links in-house, seek more acquisitions of missing features, or most likely, partner with the many other vendors active in the space. Adjacent areas for more integration include Hadoop distributions (such as Cloudera, where Michael Dell Capital has taken a sizable stake); data cleansing and quality providers (like Informatica); perhaps newer generation in-memory, NoSQL, and NewSQL databases; and security and governance products for all that sensitive information.

Look at the development of purpose-built appliances and cloud components as well. Boomi at least will help with data mapping and synchronization in hybrid clouds. Still, the assumption that big data and analytics will live primarily on-premises is unrealistic, and more could be done to accommodate hybrid environments and offerings, spanning a wide variety of infrastructure-, platform-, and software-as-a-service providers. An appliance would need to be more than a rigid bundle of hardware, too, offering unique embedded and configured software also. Dell does have a sizable footprint in cloud vendors’ own data centers and an interesting roadmap to facilitate customers’ on-ramps to the cloud.

Bring the big data vision to market by raising awareness, educating the installed base and prospects, and better coordinating efforts across Dell business units. The now private company does seem more energized and nimble, but needs to accelerate the efforts to capture enough mindshare and market share before the big data market crystalizes. With many companies now moving toward standardizing on providers and rolling out full-scale production deployments this year, the window of opportunity to establish Dell as leader in the space will be small.

The Bigger Truth

Dell is one of a very few companies possessing the right ingredients to really reshape the big data and analytics market, including the brand presence, a full hardware stack, a broad range of data-oriented software, and the professional services muscle to make it all come together. Particularly midmarket organizations will be attracted to the “one-stop shop” full service approach, and they will benefit from combined solution sets. Much more could be said about the capabilities of any one product, and no doubt this is readily available, but it’s the combined portfolio that is most intriguing.

Certainly many vendors will tell a good story about the business possibilities of big data, and many more will have some unique feature that sounds exciting by itself. Not many have yet connected the dots to show how their range can address the middle ground of delivering specific capabilities for particular environments and use cases, whether by vertical or line of business. Here again, Dell’s heritage of targeting distinct sectors like healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and government could prove valuable. The path for Dell to be successful is now clear, but integration, partnerships, expansion, and go-to-market execution will all be of great importance in affecting the overall outcome.

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