Dell Really Meant it When they Called Dell Tech World 2024 the AI Edition

Discover how Dell Technology World 2024 reshapes views on AI infrastructure.

June 17, 2024

At the recent Dell Technology World 2024 in Las Vegas, the company wasn’t shy about focusing on generative AI. In fact, the slides shown during Michael Dell’s keynote all said Dell Technology World: AI Edition.

Now some may be surprised to see a company like Dell putting all of the focus of their core technology event on AI. After all, when people think of generative AI they are probably more likely to reference companies like NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Microsoft.

But while GPUs and public Large Language Models (LLMs) get most of the attention, increasingly, businesses are turning to major IT infrastructure providers to help them with their adoption of generative AI. This is because many organizations’ generative AI strategies are focused less on the cloud and public LLMs and more on the ability of businesses to use their own data and internal systems to create their own models and internal AI capabilities.

Recent Aberdeen research has found that nearly 70% of businesses are using AI in some form, either through embedded offerings or through a strategic decision to adopt generative AI. And among these AI businesses we see a large focus on improving internal server, storage and infrastructure capabilities.

For example, 53% of businesses adopting AI in our research are looking to invest in AI-ready servers. When looking at solutions such as Dell’s AI Factory, we see that there is a definite market for these types of infrastructure offerings that can help businesses more easily adopt generative AI.

Other core areas of the keynotes and announcements at Dell Technology World highlighted the importance of building an entire IT infrastructure that is AI-ready. They talked about improved network connectivity to speed connections between data, applications, and AI systems. They covered high-performance storage systems built to handle the massive amounts of data that AI requires and they looked at solutions designed to minimize the power and resource demands that can come with generative AI.

All of this makes sense and is a good starting point for any business looking to adopt generative AI. Like a high performance racing car, while a fast engine is vital, having the right chassis, transmission and tires can have just as much of an impact on performance. Similarly, while GPUs and LLMs are necessary for AI, businesses also need to focus on the end-to-end foundation in order to succeed with generative AI.

Jim Rapoza
Jim Rapoza

VP & Principal Analyst, Aberdeen

For over twenty-five years Jim Rapoza, VP & Principal Analyst at Aberdeen, has been using, testing, and writing about the newest technologies in software, enterprise hardware and the Internet. He previously served as the director of an award-winning technology testing lab based in Massachusetts and California. Rapoza is also the winner of five awards of excellence in technology journalism, and co-chaired a summit on technology industry security practices. He is a frequent speaker at technology conferences and expositions and has been regularly interviewed as a technology expert by national and local media outlets including CNN, ABC, NPR, and the Associated Press.
Mike Lock
Mike Lock

Managing Director & Principal, Aberdeen Strategy & Research, Aberdeen

As Managing Director & Principal, Aberdeen Strategy & Research, Michael is responsible for managing the strategic direction of Aberdeen’s research coverage into both traditional and cutting-edge topic areas, including analytics, business intelligence, internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning, while maintaining oversight of 16 different research practice areas. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Trinity College and an MBA from Babson College.
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