Mark Davison at the Dell Solutions Summit, Brussels – It has been a rollercoaster couple of years for Michael Dell as he battled to regain control of the company he founded in 1984, privatise it, and steer it back in the direction he wanted it to head.
And yesterday he admitted that he had few regrets, certainly none over Dell’s privatisation.
Quizzed during a Q&A about whether there was anything he would have done differently over the past 10 years, Dell was forthright.
“I tend to be a look-forward person rather than look back,” he replied. “There are certainly some acquisitions that I didn’t do during that period that I wish I had. But our industry is change or die – it’s all becoming that.”
Dell says that he is content with the current position his company occupies in the IT industry.
“The IT industry is worth $3-trillion and there are 10 companies that have more than 1% share in this,” he says. “We have 2%. No-one has more than 5% or 6% and we’re one of those 10 companies. I’d like to come back in 10 years’ time and have 3% or 4%, but I think the industry will be worth around $4-trillion by then.
“Regrets may certainly be a part of our business, but I don’t live a life of regrets,” he adds.
And he is optimistic about the future of the company he now once again controls.
“Growth in EMEA is double-digit,” he says. “And if you look across the world at Dell’s growth compared to some others, we’re the fastest growing.
“You might have seen something last year about Dell going private?” he quips. “It’s true. And this now enables us to put our focus 100% on our customers; it means more investment in R&D, our relationships and our channel.
“If you look at our range of products and the growth we’ve delivered, I’m happy with that. And with the future opportunities that we have,” he says.
