Dell | Management Innovation eXchange

How talking to customers changes an engineer's job

By Dell on June 3, 2010

How does a Dell engineer’s job change when they get to talk to customers? It opens up an information flow so they can co-create something better.

You have to earn the right to sell to somebody. That’s why Dell is building relationships with customers and becoming trustied advisors through the Dell TechCenter where enterprise level employees can connect with Dell technicians and engineers.

Dell’s TechCenter emerged from Dell’s recognition that they wanted to build a community specifically for enterprise-level IT administrators, a place where they could share ideas for building better solutions. From the beginning, Dell envisioned this as something much more than a customer support site. Instead, this was a place where enterprise-level IT administrators – whether or not they were Dell customers – could compare notes on issues directly related to their business, things like how to build better solutions using VMware, how to optimize storage, how to get more users on an exchange server. But it’s also, frankly, a place where technically savvy IT administrators can get away from the naïve questions of newbies and bond over shared complaints about the less adept folks they have to work with every day.

Today,...

Renewable Power…and Shaded Parking!

By Dell on April 6, 2010

Parking cover topped with solar arrays will help Dell avoid 221,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year - roughly equivalent to planting 23 acres of pine forest every year.

Employees working on Dell’s Round Rock, Texas campus noticed this week a section of the parking lot is temporarily closed – but for a really cool reason! Many of you have suggested on EmployeeStorm that Dell install solar panels on our campuses to integrate more renewable energy into our operations. We listened. We’ve teamed with McBride Inc. and BP Solar to install a parking cover topped with solar arrays. It’s designed to produce 131,051 watts of solar power, which will help Dell avoid 221,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year - roughly equivalent to planting 23 acres of pine forest every year. The structure will cover 50 parking spaces and include two charging stations for electric vehicles.

Dell now sources more than 25 percent of our global electricity needs from renewable sources, and we’re committed to doing more. To that end, the facilities team is launching solar pilot projects like this in every region. The team recently completed a...

Efforts in Response to a Simple, Compelling Request

By Dell on April 5, 2010

Would Dell donate 50-100 notebooks to help establish a Haiti command center in Miami to coordinate the outpouring of community volunteer aid efforts?

Within minutes Michael Dell gave the green light, although we sensed even then that this was likely to be much more involved than simply shipping a few PCs. Ten frenetic days later, an empty office in Miami was transformed into a fully functioning command center, bustling with activity and powered by donated Dell hardware running Dell provided software/solutions. What follows is the story of a dedicated Dell team drawn from across the company who overcame numerous hurdles to meet the deadline and make this a reality.

Jan. 17 (Sunday) – Deb Bauer is designated the point person. Deb reaches out to Lars Jensen and others to set the gears in motion, and remains in constant communications with the White House throughout the day to begin the planning.

Jan. 18 (Monday) – A Dell team works through the day with the White House team to assess, advise, and define the optimal IT capability. As these discussions evolve, the initial request for notebook computers begins...