Dell 2008 Annual Report Download - page 8

Table of Contents
• Storage — We offer a comprehensive portfolio of advanced storage solutions, including storage area networks, network-attached storage, direct-
attached storage, disk and tape backup systems, and removable disk backup. With our advanced storage solutions for mainstream buyers, we offer
customers functionality and value while reducing complexity in the enterprise. Our storage systems are easy to deploy, manage, and maintain. The
flexibility and scalability offered by Dell PowerVaultTM, Dell EqualLogicTM, and Dell | EMC storage systems help organizations optimize storage
for diverse environments with varied requirements. During the fiscal year, we expanded our storage portfolio by adding increasingly flexible
storage choices that allow customers to grow capacity, add performance and protect their data in a more economical manner.
Financial Services
We offer or arrange various customer financial services for our business and consumer customers in the U.S. through Dell Financial Services L.L.C.
("DFS"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell. DFS offers a wide range of financial services, including originating, collecting, and servicing customer
receivables related to the purchase of Dell products. DFS offers private label credit financing programs through CIT Bank to qualified consumer and
small business customers and offers leases and fixed-term financings to business customers. Financing through DFS is one of many sources of
funding that our customers may select. For additional information about our financing arrangements, see "Part II — Item 7 — Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Financing Receivables and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements" and
Note 6 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in "Part II — Item 8 — Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."
Sales and Marketing
We sell our products and services directly to customers through dedicated sales representatives, telephone-based sales, online at www.dell.com, and
through a variety of indirect sales channels. Our customers include large corporate, government, healthcare, and education accounts, as well as small
and medium businesses and individual consumers. Within each of our geographic regions, we have divided our sales and marketing resources among
these various customer groups. No single customer accounted for more than 10% of our consolidated net revenue during any of the last three fiscal
years.
Our sales and marketing efforts are organized around the evolving needs of our customers. Our direct business model provides direct communication
with our customers; thereby allowing us to refine our products and marketing programs for specific customer groups. Customers may offer
suggestions for current and future Dell products, services, and operations on an interactive portion of our website called Dell IdeaStorm. This
constant flow of communication allows us to rapidly gauge customer satisfaction and target new or existing products.
For large business and institutional customers, we maintain a field sales force throughout the world. Dedicated account teams, which include field-
based system engineers and consultants, form long-term relationships to provide our largest customers with a single source of assistance, develop
specific tailored solutions for these customers, and provide us with customer feedback. For large, multinational customers, we offer several
programs designed to provide single points of contact and accountability with global account specialists, special global pricing, and consistent global
service and support programs. We also maintain specific sales and marketing programs targeted at federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as
well as at specific healthcare and educational customers.
We market our products and services to small and medium businesses and consumers primarily by advertising on television and the Internet,
advertising in a variety of print media, and mailing or emailing a broad range of direct marketing publications, such as promotional materials,
catalogs, and customer newsletters.
Our business strategy also includes indirect sales channels. Outside the U.S., we sell products indirectly through selected partners to benefit from the
partner's existing end-user customer relationships and valuable knowledge of traditional customs and logistics in the country, to mitigate credit and
country risk, and because sales in some countries may be too small to warrant a direct sales business unit. In the U.S., we sell products indirectly
through third-party solution providers, system integrators, and third-party resellers. PartnerDirect brings our existing partner initiatives under one
umbrella globally. PartnerDirect includes partner training and certification, deal registration, dedicated sales and customer care, and a dedicated web
portal. We also offer select consumer products in retail stores in several countries in the Americas, EMEA, and APJ. Our goal is to have strategic
relationships with a number of major retailers in our larger geographic regions. During Fiscal 2009, we continued to expand our global retail
presence, and we now reach over 24,000 retail locations worldwide. Our retailers include Best Buy, Staples, Wal-Mart, GOME, and Carrefour,
among others.
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