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The Company
Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology
and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct
business model, Dell sells more systems globally than any computer
company, placing it No. 34 on the Fortune 500. Dell's climb to market
leadership is the result of a persistent focus on delivering the best
possible customer experience by directly selling standards-based
computing products and services. Revenue for the last four quarters
totaled $58.2 billion and the company employs approximately 90,400 team
members around the globe.
Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, the longest-tenured executive
to lead a company in the computer industry. The company is based on a
simple concept: by selling computer systems directly to customers, Dell
could best understand their needs and efficiently provide the most
effective computing solutions to meet those needs. This direct business
model eliminates retailers that add unnecessary time and cost, or can
diminish Dell's understanding of customer expectations. The direct model
allows the company to build every system to order and offer customers
powerful, richly configured systems at competitive prices. Dell also
introduces the latest relevant technology much more quickly than
companies with slow-moving, indirect distribution channels.
The Dell Effect
For more than 20 years, Dell has revolutionized the industry to make
computing accessible to customers around the globe, including businesses,
institutional organizations and individual consumers. Because of Dell's
direct model—and the industry's response to it—information technology is
more powerful, easier to use and more affordable, giving customers the
opportunity to take advantage of powerful new tools to improve their
businesses and personal lives.
Dell has demonstrated this effect time and again as it enters new,
standardized product categories, such as network servers, workstations,
mobility products, printers and other electronic accessories. Nearly
one out of every five standards-based computer system sold in the world
today is a Dell. This global reach indicates our direct approach is
relevant across product lines, regions and customer segments.
Balancing Liquidity, Profitability and Growth
Dell's high return to shareholders has been the result of a focused
effort over time to balance growth with profitability and liquidity.
Dell has consistently led its largest competitors in each of those
categories.
