Apr 7th 2000: Dell Computer set out to court the service provider market this week, with a series of announcements on Wednesday (Apr 5th) intended to reposition the company as a supplier of Internet infrastructure rather than merely a PC maker.

Claiming the company has "tremendous credibility" in the Internet market, founder and CEO Michael Dell unveiled a five separate initiatives, including a new service and support package tailored to the needs of service providers, and a new product line of ultra-slim appliance servers.

The hope is that the strategy will enable Dell to capture a growing share of the Internet infrastructure market as companies look more to build out their Internet capabilities.

Of most interest to ASPs is �Service Provider Direct,� a three-tier package of service, support and co-marketing programs designed specifically to benefit ISPs, ASPs and Web hosting companies. Current program users include Corio, Exodus Communications and NaviSite.

A second initiative, called Infrastructure Computing, saw the introduction of a new range of PowerApp appliance servers designed for specific Internet infrastructure tasks such as Web serving, caching and load balancing.

Also of interest is Dell Ventures, cited as an element in the strategy even though it is not a new announcement. Dell reiterated a commitment to provide equity investments and incubation services through its venture capital arm for selected early-stage private companies, with the aim of accelerating the development of Internet-related breakthrough technologies, products and services.

Dell has been a notably active investor in the ASP sector in recent months, with investments in companies across a wide spectrum, including CenterBeam, DigitalWork.com, eOnline, Healtheon, Hire.com, Interliant, Navisite, Niku and StorageNetworks.

Item number four on the Dell list is �E�xpert Services, a set of consultancy services developed with Arthur Andersen and Gen3 Partners that are intended to help businesses take advantage of the power of the Internet.

The fifth initiative is Universal Access, a drive to enable Internet access by as wide a spectrum of devices and communications services as possible. The program, for which there was little detail available, will offer a combination of leading-edge devices, connectivity offerings and access choices, encompassing narrow band services, broadband offerings and wireless products and services.

Report by Denise D'Onofrio

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