Dell 2010 Annual Report Download - page 11

Table of Contents
portion of our Internet website called Dell IdeaStorm. In addition, in order to react quickly to our customers' needs, we track our Net
Promoter Score, a customer loyalty metric that is widely used across various industries. Increasingly, we also engage with customers
through our social media communities on Dell.com and in external social media channels. This constant flow of communication allows
us to rapidly gauge customer satisfaction, respond to our customers' needs, and develop solutions that help them achieve their goals.
For large business and institutional customers, we maintain a field sales force throughout the world. Dedicated account teams, which
include field-based enterprise solution specialists, 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 healthcare and educational customers.
We market our products and services to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers primarily by advertising on television and
through the Internet, advertising in a variety of print media, and mailing or emailing a broad range of direct marketing publications, such
as promotional materials, catalogues, and customer newsletters.
We also sell our products and services through indirect sales channels. In the U.S., we sell products indirectly through third-party solution
providers, system integrators, and third-party resellers. We also offer select consumer products in retail stores in the Americas, Europe,
the Middle East, and Africa, which we refer to as "EMEA," and Asia-Pacific Japan, which we refer to as "APJ". Outside the U.S., we sell
products indirectly through selected retailers to benefit from the retailer's existing end-user customer relationships and valuable
knowledge of traditional customs and logistics in the country and to mitigate credit and country risk, as well as because sales in some
countries may be too small to warrant a direct sales business unit. Our goal is to have strategic relationships with a number of major
retailers in larger geographic regions. Retailers who currently sell our products include Best Buy, Staples, Wal-Mart, DSGI, GOME, and
Carrefour, among others.
Patents, Trademarks, and Licenses
At January 28, 2011, we held a worldwide portfolio of 2,991 patents and had an additional 1,972 patent applications pending. We also
hold licenses to use numerous third-party patents. To replace expiring patents, we obtain new patents through our ongoing research and
development activities. The inventions claimed in our patents and patent applications cover aspects of our current and possible future
computer system products, manufacturing processes, and related technologies. Our product, business method, and manufacturing process
patents may establish barriers to entry in many product lines. While we use our patented inventions and also license them to others, we
are not substantially dependent on any single patent or group of related patents. We have entered into a variety of intellectual property
licensing and cross-licensing agreements. We have also entered into various software licensing agreements with other companies. We
anticipate that our worldwide patent portfolio will be of value in negotiating intellectual property rights with others in the industry.
We have obtained U.S. federal trademark registration for the DELL word mark and the Dell logo mark. We own registrations for 99 of
our other trademarks in the U.S. At January 28, 2011, we had pending applications for registration of 15 other trademarks. We believe
that establishment of the DELL word mark and logo mark in the U.S. is material to our operations. We have also applied for or obtained
registration of the DELL word mark and several other marks in approximately 195 other countries.
From time to time, other companies and individuals assert exclusive patent, copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights to
technologies or marks that are important to the technology industry or our business. We evaluate each claim relating to our products and,
if appropriate, seek a license to use the protected technology. The licensing agreements generally do not require the licensor to assist us in
duplicating its patented technology, nor do these agreements protect us from trade secret, copyright, or other violations by us or our
suppliers in developing or selling these products.
7