With hybrid workplace here to stay, Dell takes a new approach to the ‘work PC’

He admitted that the hybrid model is here to stay, with many companies in the IT, banking, healthcare, etc considering this seriously. Dell’s own Remote Work Readiness Index (RWR index) showed that nine out of 10 employees in India feel prepared to work remotely from a long-term point of view.

The work PC is no longer just relegated to work, but rather employees also need to use it for other aspects. The way Dell views it, the device now needs to “becomes a complete end point solution.”

He pointed out that there’s a difference in how organisations are approaching device availability right now versus when the pandemic began. “Now things are changing. It is about giving the right product based on the applications that the employee is working on, along with a security solution or a data backup solution, etc. That’s what we are seeing,” he said.

Indrajit Belgundi, Senior Director and General Manager for Client Solutions Group at Dell Technologies.

While Dell sees strong demand and growth continuing in the Indian PC market, which has seen a revival of sorts thanks to the pandemic, its latest product portfolio is more in line with some of the newer demands. The company’s latest Latitude and Precision offerings– geared towards professionals– have been redesigned with a thinner form factor in some cases, and come with improved security features.

Instead of just enterprise offerings, Dell says considering more persona-based products for employees, and understands that a developer’s needs would be different from those of a graphic designer. “The Latitude 9330 notebook, is the world’s first notebook with a collaboration touchpad. For example, it lets users turn the video on and off, mute the volume, screen share and chat as a feature from the touchpad,” he pointed out.

The Latitude 9330 is yet to launch in India, and is one of the 2-in-1 devices aimed at enterprise users. Dell has also introduced its Precision workstations in new 16 and 17-inch workstations. The company plans to bring these to the Indian market soon, though the exact dates are not yet confirmed.

But while Dell expects the growth to continue in the enterprise segment, the supply chain challenge remains. Belgundi admitted that there are “external challenges which are impacting a lot of verticals.” However, he pointed out that delivery times have reduced and the trend is expected to improve further.

“We will continue to see a strong demand whether it’s a notebook or our workstation. For example, we have a factory in Chennai. Some of the products which we are building in Chennai such as the Optiplex desktops or Latitude 5420 notebooks, their lead time is much faster. It’s definitely improved a lot,” he added.