Dell 2000 Annual Report Download - page 7

Dell Financial Services L.P. ("DFS"), a joint venture between the Company and The CIT Group, offers leasing and other financial
services to the Company's customers. For additional information about DFS, see Note 8 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
included in "Item 8 — Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
Service and Support
The Company provides a basic limited warranty and technical support and offers a full line of warranty, service and support options in
all of its geographic markets. These options vary in each of the countries in which the Company does business based on local market
and customer requirements. The following is a description of the warranties, service and support generally available to the Company's
customers in the United States.
Technical Support and Warranty Programs
The Company provides a basic limited warranty, including parts and labor, for all computer systems for a period ranging from one to
three years. The Company offers additional warranties based upon the particular product offered and customer needs.
The Company also provides free, telephone-based 24-hour technical support, as well as online technical support over the Internet.
During the second half of fiscal 2001, the Company announced that the Dell Solution Center, a collection of online technical support
and learning services, would become standard on the Company's consumer and small business line of Inspiron notebooks and
Dimension desktop computers. The Dell Solution Center, which appears as an icon on a customer's computer screen, is a package of
Web-based troubleshooting tools and educational offerings designed to make computers easier to use. It includes the Company's
comprehensive e-support software and hardware diagnostic tool, Resolution Assistant, which connects users directly to the Company's
support technicians through the Internet. Alternatively, customers can access www.support.dell.com, a customized home page for each
customer with information specific to their computer. For technical questions about a system, customers can also use the Company's
natural language technical support tool, Ask Dudley.
Additional Options
The Company offers customers the opportunity to purchase additional customized services and support programs through a wide
selection of options. For example, PowerEdge server customers may choose to extend their basic limited warranty contracts to include
up to four additional years of next-business-day, onsite service. Additionally, customers may choose same-day or two-, four- or six-
hour response service offerings. Notebook computer owners have access to service and support in a multitude of countries in which
the Company conducts business, in the event a notebook customer is in need of service or support while traveling outside of that
customer's home country.
The Company recently announced the creation of Premier Enterprise Services, a comprehensive portfolio of enterprise-level service
offerings. Premier Enterprise Services consists of three distinct programs: Premier Enterprise Consulting, Premier Enterprise
Deployment and Premier Enter-
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prise Support. Premier Enterprise Consulting allows customers to leverage the Company's expertise in planning, building and
optimizing scalable enterprise infrastructures through services provided by Dell Technology Consulting. Other service offerings
include design and on-site implementation of complex storage systems, enterprise hardware training and tuning and proof-of-concept
services in the Company's Technology Solution Centers. Premier Enterprise Deployment tailors systems to specific customer
requirements by integrating custom-configured hardware and software into the Company's manufacturing process, coordinating
delivery and managing all aspects of an on-site installation. Premier Enterprise Support includes engineer-to-engineer support,
technical account management, and seamless single-point-of-accountability support for issue resolution of leading enterprise software
applications. These services are currently available in the United States and Canada and the Company plans to expand these services
to international customers.
The Company's Premier Access program includes a service and support program specifically designed for information systems
professionals who have technical expertise in diagnosing and servicing computer systems. Customers can choose their level of service
under the program, including rapid service and parts dispatches, direct access to advanced level technical support, specialized online
support, reimbursement for certain labor costs and parts management assistance.
The Company also offers specialized custom factory integration services designed to address specific hardware and software
integration requirements of customers. These services allow the Company to satisfy a customer's particular integration requirements
(whether hardware related, such as specialized network cards, video and graphic boards, modems, tape drives or hard drives; or
software related, such as customer proprietary software applications or drivers) at the time the customer's systems are manufactured.
This is in addition to the Company's ReadyWare program, a collection of popular software applications and interface cards that can be
factory-installed.
The Company also offers a variety of onsite installation services that can be customized to meet the needs of each specific customer.
These services include basic installation and orientation, system connectivity and functional testing, external peripheral installation,
internal device installation and file server and advanced system installation.