Michael Dell outlines reasons for ‘dream combination’ with EMC

"EMC: $67 billion. Being master of your own destiny: priceless." With those words, Michael Dell spelled out exactly what taking Dell private has meant to the technology firm. "What can I tell you? I'm all in, completely committed to the success of our new company."

Delivering the opening address of the company’s fifth annual conference in Austin, Texas, Mr Dell said the company had filed an increasing number of patents since going private, with a 27 per cent increase year on year, and it expected to increase that figure further in the future.

“The last two years have been fantastic for me. We’ve been able to do so much, it makes me so proud,” he said.

Mr Dell took the company he founded 32 years ago in his university dorm room private again in 2013, as part of a deal with the company’s founder and investment firm Silver Lake.

“I’m even more convinced going private was the right decision for you and our company,” he said.

The topic of the company’s acquisition of EMC was still at the forefront of the conversation though.

Go big or go home

“When we took [Dell] private, we kept getting asked if we would still do acquisitions,” Mr Dell said. “Well...go big or go home baby.”

While the news of the merger has met mixed reaction, including criticism from HP chief executive Meg Whitman, Mr Dell was predictably upbeat about the prospects.

Describing the companies as “a dream combination” Mr Dell said the combined group is set to become an enterprise solutions powerhouse, with a combined revenue of $80 billion.

“We’re going to build the world’s infrastructure for the next 20-30 years,” he said. “You’re going to cure cancer, you’re going to feed and water the world, create jobs, hope and opp on a global scale. We have the vision, innovation, market power and horsepower to help you dream that big.”

The EMC acquisition would give Dell the industry’s biggest, best and most innovative storage business, he said.

With the rise in the number of connected devices and sensors delivering an increasing amount of data - up to 44 zedabytes by 2020 - there will be a demand from businesses to analyse that data in real time to bring a competitive advantage.

Digital universe

Mr Dell outlined the digital future and where he saw the new Dell fitting into that new landscape.

“It’s a digital universe and it’s the next trillion dollar opportunity for growth and productivity,” he said. “The explosion in devices is really just beginning.”

The company announced a number of new products at the Dell World event, including an update to its OptiPlex family of PCs, new cloud computing technology and

Dell is also throwing its backing behind the hybrid cloud, which mixes private and public cloud services.

“We believe the data centre of the future, the hybrid cloud model will rule supreme,” Mr Dell said. That could also work out as a less expensive option, with Dell estimating it could be 24 per cent cheaper.

“Across all of the family of businesses, we’re 100 per cent committed to open, independent ecosystems,” Mr Dell said.

That includes working with Microsoft and other partners, some of whom joined Mr Dell on stage, including Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.

Although he joked about Microsoft’s prices for hardware - the company’s recently announced Surface Book is set to sell from $1500 - he insisted the two companies were partners.

“What [Microsoft is] doing is pushing Windows 10 into new spaces and driving the platform forward. I’m actually excited about that. It’s helping drive the windows ecosystem faster,” he said. He described Microsoft as the “ice breaker” that was pushing into new territory.

Ice-breaker strategy

When asked about his reaction to the news that Microsoft was moving into the laptop business, Mr Dell said he wanted to understand what the motivation was.

“When we understood the intent was basically drive the platform, what I call the ice-breaker strategy and push into new territory, where we could come in with a cheaper product… Great. That works.”

There was a rapid adoption of Windows 10, Mr Dell said, with interest from the enterprise sector.

There was the customary star presence, with actor Adrian Grenier taking to the stage to talk about his role as Dell's social good advocate.

“We are planting the seeds for the future,” he said.

That fit with Mr Dell’s overriding philosophy and the theme of the conference.

“Being future ready isn’t just for enterprise; our world must be future ready,” he said.