
Dell APEX as-a-Service Portfolio: What Does It Include?
Dell APEX options will officially debut during Dell Technologies World 2021, a virtual event for partners and customers that runs May 5 and May 6. The official lineup includes:
"As companies continue to create more data, they want the ability to store and manage that data when and where they need it. Whether their data lives within a data center, at the edge or across public and private clouds, customers want more choice and greater flexibility in managing their hybrid IT infrastructure. By collaborating with Equinix, Dell Technologies can provide APEX Data Storage Services to support these customers’ hybrid multi-cloud requirements on a global scale.”
Dell APEX vs HPE GreenLake and Cisco Plus
Moreover, APEX essentially counters Hewlett Packard Enterprise's GreenLake strategy. HPE in 2019 committed to offering its entire hardware and software portfolio "as a service" by 2022. The latest HPE GreenLake milestone arrived yesterday (May 4, 2021), when the company unveiled a data services cloud console coupled with subscription-based cloud data services and HPE Alletra -- a new portfolio of cloud-native data infrastructure.Meanwhile, Cisco Systems is set to deliver Cisco Plus -- a complete as-a-service portfolio -- in mid-2021, the networking giant revealed in March 2021. Cisco Plus spans the company's entire data center, compute, networking and storage portfolio -- plus third-party storage and software. Cisco's goal is to bridge on-premises, edge and public cloud opportunities.Of Cisco's key partners, MSPs in the SMB sector tend to be ahead of the curve on SaaS adoption. Indeed, SaaS-based Cisco solutions such as Duo, Meraki and Umbrella are popular within the SMB channel, which increasingly leans on MSPs to remotely support end-customers.Back in the enterprise, even IBM's hardware business is pitching the as-a-service model. The effort involves a "flexible pricing model" for IBM Z hardware, according to IBM Z General Manager Ross Mauri. The new pricing model follow IBM's announcement to co-locate IBM DS8910F Storage into the IBM Z15 Model T02 frame, Mauri noted.Dell Technologies World: Where Will Partners Take APEX?
Still, today marks the beginning of Dell Technologies World. And APEX will be generating plenty of buzz across the Dell channel ecosystem today.
"The world is innovating faster than ever to meet new demands of customers, students, patients and constituents – driving the need for a more agile and simple technology approach. This is what APEX offers," said Allison Dew, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Dell Technologies APEX. “With the industry’s leading IT portfolio, decades of data center services experience and an unmatched global supply chain and partner network, no other as-a-Service portfolio comes close to our capabilities.”