Michael Dell: The Eliminator
ZDNet | at | by Mike
Michael Dell is the eliminator. It's in his and the company's genes. He eliminates costs and competitors with a relentless focus on driving costs down and in forming tight relationships with customers and suppliers.
Yesterday, HP CEO Carly Fiorina categorized Dell as merely a distribution channel. Today, the Dell chairman and CEO responded by saying the direct model overshadows other skills the company has in R&D and manufacturing. In responding to a question at Gartner Symposium ITxpo about Dell's lack of innovation and R&D, Dell said that over 90 percent of the revenue comes from what the company designs and manufactures. He said that Dell has garnered 750 patents since the late 1980s.