Dell Offers Multilanguage Support and Global Two-Way Native SMS Crisis Notification and Collaboration

International organizations now have multilingual, two-way communication available with AlertFind, Dell Global Services’ powerful crisis management and alerting service.

AlertFind is designed to help businesses rapidly contact large numbers of employees, customers and other constituents during a crisis using all available communication channels. By allowing administrators and end-users to set language preferences for notifications, instructions or recorded messages, AlertFind can make it easy for customers to communicate with employees in several different languages simultaneously. English (U.S. and UK dialects), French, German and Spanish are currently supported. Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Italian and Dutch will be added by the end of 2008.

“Currently, the top-10 customers for AlertFind have nearly one million employees, with a significant percentage located outside the U.S.,” said Bryan Rollins, director of product management at Dell Global Services. “Being able to immediately communicate during a crisis, regardless of where employees are located or what language they speak, is a top priority for these organizations. Based on customer feedback, we now provide additional language support for both in-bound and out-bound messages.”

Dell also provides local in-bound numbers for employees in 26 countries today with more being added regularly. When employees call the in-bound number, they can check sent notifications, complete poll surveys, transfer to a conference call bridge or listen to general information. In-bound numbers allow employees to call and get instructions from virtually anywhere in the event of a disaster, if portions of the communications infrastructure are unavailable. Administrators also can initiate a notification via the local number, so the alert is easily identified by employees.

Quickly Communicate Internationally

A key component to international crisis notification and collaboration is immediate two-way communication on a variety of devices. As a leading provider of critical crisis communications, AlertFind uses global, two-way native SMS to help ensure customers receive text messages quickly. AlertFind has a distinct advantage over solutions that utilize SMTP. AlertFind uses SMS protocol, which is less likely to be identified as spam by telecommunications providers. Dell has established agreements with telecommunications companies to provide two-way SMS capabilities around the globe.

Enterprise Class Security and Privacy is Critical for Global Organizations

AlertFind is also designed to meet the privacy and security needs of large global companies. For example, some countries may require that data be kept in a specific geographical location. With top-tier data centers in multiple countries around the world, Dell Global Services is able to offer global and regional storage and delivery options that can help customers comply with stringent data privacy requirements.

Alert Find offers secure distributed management, so customers can set strict permissions on who can send alerts and see contact information. When a regional crisis team sends a notification, Alert Find automatically populates with just the regional users and groups available locally. These features can enable companies to provide local control over crisis management while helping to speed message creation and reducing security risks.

About AlertFind

With more than one million global recipients, AlertFind is a crisis notification and collaboration service that can be used for two-way communication over a dozen different devices with user specified escalation rules. AlertFind has kept companies, communities and universities operating and enabled them to ensure the safety of their employees during and after the I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis in August 2007, Hurricane Katrina and the July 2005 bombings of London’s public transit system.

Technology “Transports” Dell, NFIB Small Business Award Winner to International Growth

Steve Mattie, founder and president of Transport Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of highly customized enclosed trailers and truck conversion motor homes in Montoursville, Pa., remembers when he and his colleagues saw little use for a computer, as the trailer and motor home industry was decidedly low-tech.

By breaking the mold and growing his business worldwide because of it, Transport Designs has earned the 2008 Dell/National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Excellence Award1. The announcement and award presentation was made today during NFIB’s National Small-Business Summit in Washington, D.C.

“When you are trying to sell a five or six-figure product sight unseen to a customer living in Australia, technology is the only means for communication, negotiation and building trust,” said Mattie. “Without embracing IT, our business would still be struggling to grow outside our region of the country much less internationally.”

From restaurants on wheels to transportable fitness centers, Transport Designs’ product options are vast, and so is the company’s vision for how far innovative use of technology can take them. Transport Designs stays up-to-speed on the latest in design software and hardware tools using Dell laptops to share customized digital floor plans and real-time construction progress with customers. Under Mattie’s direction, customers can also download easy-to-use tools to interact with the plans and update the designs themselves.

“Our electronic, fully rendered images are so detailed they can even include human figures, allowing customers to truly visualize the product, no matter how far away they are,” said Mattie. “This, along with the option to personally update their floor plan as if they were physically present at the build site, puts customers’ minds at ease and really sets us apart.”

Currently under construction, Transport Designs is building Car Doctor World Motorsports the first-of-its-kind cab-over motor coach to be used at its Turn Key Drive racing events, where average citizens sign up to spend a day in the life of a race car driver. Complete with massage chairs and water-wall décor, the motor coach is designed to exude luxury and comfort and is where participants will go to relax after a day of racing.

“I interviewed and traveled to vendors all over the U.S. for this project and needed to find the best,” said Ryan Pilla, owner of Car Doctor. “Steve’s use of technology and his vast knowledge of design tools far surpassed his competitors, giving me the confidence I needed to choose Transport Designs as my vendor. It has been a wonderful relationship ever since.”

Transport Designs will receive $25,000 in Dell products and services, a lifetime membership to NFIB, the leading small business association in the United States, valued at $15,000 (including a trip to NFIB’s National Small-Business Summit), and a day of best-practice sharing with Dell experts, including time with Chairman and CEO Michael Dell.

New this year, Transport Designs is also eligible for a chance to win the global Dell Small Business Excellence Award¹ worth $50,000 in Dell technology and services and featured participation in a global entrepreneurs’ summit. National winners from 12 countries - Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States - will be announced by September, and the global winner will be announced in fall 2008.

Dell Defining What It Means To Be ‘Green’ In Technology

Dell today marked the one-year anniversary of its commitment to be the “greenest technology company on the planet” by reporting the company’s largest single-year product recycling volume, becoming the first major computer manufacturer to offer Silver 80 PLUS-certified power supplies and demonstrating significant progress in its global zero-carbon initiative.

• Recycles More Than 100 Million Pounds of Equipment in 2007
• Energy-Efficiency Initiatives, 80 PLUS Power Supplies Driving Unprecedented Customer Savings
• Partners with The Climate Group’s “Together” Campaign Launching Today

“Our customers and stakeholders are inspiring us to lead a new era of environmental responsibility,” said Tod Arbogast, director of sustainable business for Dell. “We are at a historic point in time when the combined efforts of companies, customers, employees and suppliers will make the critical changes to protect our shared Earth.”

2007 Product Recycling Results

Dell reported recovery of 102 million pounds of IT equipment from customers during 2007, a 20 percent increase over 2006. The company has continued to enhance options for consumer recycling. In addition to its industry leading free home pick-up program, Dell continues to expand its Reconnect alliance with Goodwill. Consumers can now take advantage of free and convenient recycling at 370 attended drop-off Reconnect locations in 24 U.S. markets.

The company also continues to lead the industry in setting responsible recycling standards, including minimization of landfill globally, no export of waste and regular third-party audits of materials disposition. Dell remains the only major computer manufacturer to offer free recycling for consumers worldwide.

“Together”

Dell today also announced that it is partnering with The Climate Group’s “Together” initiative, a consumer-engagement campaign that brings together companies, cities and non-profit organizations to help Americans reduce their impact on the planet. In addition to expanding its Energy Smart and “Plant a Tree for Me” programs in the coming months, Dell will work with The Climate Group to provide consumers additional tools and resources to manage and reduce energy consumption.

Customer Savings Through Energy Efficiency

Dell remains focused on helping customers meet their own efficiency goals by working to provide products with the most performance per watt. Since 2005, the company’s client desktop systems alone have helped customers save more than $2.5 billion and avoid approximately 24 million tons of CO2.

The company today became the first major computer manufacturer to offer desktop customers Silver 80 PLUS-certified power supplies. The 80 PLUS specification aligns to the power-supply requirements in the EPA’s Energy Star 4.0 standard for computers and requires the use of 80 percent or more efficient power supplies. 80 PLUS Silver supplies are up to 8 percent more efficient than what’s required to meet Energy Star 4.0 compliance and meet the July 2009 qualifications of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative more than a year ahead of schedule.

Last month, Dell announced the company’s laptops and desktops, already among the industry’s most energy-efficient, are being designed to consume up to 25 percent less energy by 2010 relative to systems offered today. Dell recently announced the introduction of a Vostro Energy-Smart 410 desktop computer that can save customers up to 47 percent in annual energy costs1 without sacrificing power and performance.

Dell committed in September to make company operations carbon neutral by the end of 2008 and is ahead of plan in meeting that goal. Operational efficiency improvements in company facilities are saving the company approximately $2 million in operating costs per year.

In April, Dell announced that its corporate headquarters campus is powered with 100 percent ‘green’ energy. Increasing use of green power is locking in Dell’s energy prices as cost for traditional energy is expected to continue to rise.

The company’s carbon intensity (CO2 emissions/revenue) is among the lowest of the Fortune 50 and less than half that of its closest competitor.

In September 2007, Dell announced “Plant a Forest for Me”, a program that enables organizations worldwide to share best practices and, as partners, facilitate the planting of trees in sustainably managed reforestation projects. Partners include AMD, ABN AMRO, Ask.com, CGI, Staples, Salesforce.com, Targus and WellPoint.

Dell Growth Outpaces Market

Dell’s focused execution enabled the company to grow worldwide PC unit shipments in the calendar first quarter of 2008 more than 1.4 times faster than the overall market growth rate, according to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

• IDC Q1 Data Shows Dell Topped Worldwide Industry Growth In Nearly All Major PC Segments
• Dell Leads All Commercial PC Segment Categories in U.S.

According to IDC, Dell recorded a 21.3 percent growth in worldwide PC shipments in the quarter, compared to 14.9 percent growth for the industry. In major segments, Dell regained or maintained leadership in the following:

• Education, for the 32nd consecutive quarter;
• Government, for the 30th consecutive quarter;
• Very Large Business, for the 37th consecutive quarter;
• Large Business, for the 33rd consecutive quarter; and,
• Regained leadership in Medium Business in 1Q08.

In the United States the company grew by 15.6% - more than three times faster than market growth of 4.6% and gained or maintained leadership in all commercial categories including:

• Education, for the 35th consecutive quarter;
• Government, for the 34th consecutive quarter;
• Very Large business, for the 37th consecutive quarter;
• Large Business, for the 35th consecutive quarter;
• Medium and Small Business, for the 40th consecutive quarter; and,
• Gained leadership in Small Office in 1Q08.

Company Gains Share in First Quarter Across All Major Product Categories and Regions

Dell’s focus on the enterprise – a Dell strategic priority – resulted in the company increasing x86 server shipments in the calendar first quarter at 1.8 times the industry growth rate to gain 2 points of global unit share from Q4 2007. Additionally, according to Gartner Inc., Dell sold more iSCSI ECB storage controllers than any other vendor in 2007.

In notebooks, another of Dell’s strategic priorities, the company grew commercial unit shipments 35 percent year on year, gaining 1.1 points of share worldwide from Q4 2007 to Q1 2008, according to IDC.

Dell’s Global Consumer business grew units at more than two times the industry rate year on year and increased it share in the United States by almost 6 percentage points from a year ago to 22.1 percent, according to IDC. Worldwide, Dell gained 1.2 points of share year on year in the first calendar quarter.

Dell grew units at almost triple the industry growth rate according to IDC in BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China.

In Small and Medium Business, another Dell strategic priority, Dell unit shipments to the segment grew in the double-digits – 20.5 percent worldwide and 11.5 percent in the United States -- year on year. Dell has led the SMB category in the U.S. for 10 consecutive years, according to IDC.

Clemson Selects Dell High-Performance Computing Cluster To Power Wide-Ranging Research

Clemson University is using a next-generation high-performance computing cluster (HPCC) from Dell to enable a wide range of academic research, from how family migration patterns impact schools and children’s development to the design of wireless communication networks.

The supercomputer, known as the Palmetto Cluster, is housed at Clemson’s Information Technology Center and comprises 512 Dell PowerEdge 1950 servers with Intel Quad-Core processors. Dell has worked with researchers at the university to build the cluster, currently benchmarked at 31 teraflops (TF), which means it can perform more than 31 trillion operations in one second, and is expected to grow to a goal of 100 TF.

“The Palmetto Cluster is a shared computing infrastructure offering enhanced computational research capabilities that will benefit our entire research community,” said Jim Bottum, Clemson’s vice provost and chief information officer. “A system of this class from Dell, combined with quality research faculty, highly-trained support staff and world-class operations, is providing Clemson with a cyber infrastructure for the future.”

The research enabled by the Palmetto Cluster already covers a wide range of disciplines, from cross-layer protocol design of wireless communication networks to simulations in molecular dynamics and developmental studies with children.

“Clemson University has made a commitment to providing its researchers the technology infrastructure they need to reach new academic frontiers,” said John Mullen, Dell vice president of higher education. “Dell clusters deliver the simplicity and value of industry-standard computing while still providing exceptional performance in a highly demanding environment.”

Dell Increases Revenue and Earnings, Lowers Operating Expenses

Dell today reported record fiscal first quarter revenue of $16 billion, a 9 percent year-over-year increase, and earnings of $0.38 cents per share, a 12 percent increase. The results were driven by better-than-industry growth of commercial and consumer products and services, and lower operating expense as a percent of revenue.

Product shipments in the quarter increased 22 percent, with servers growing three times the industry rate at 21 percent. Storage revenue increased 15 percent and enhanced services revenue was up 13 percent. Notebook unit growth, a Dell strategic priority, rose sharply at 43 percent and 1.2 times the industry growth rate. Consumer units grew at more than two times the industry rate and the company increased its global share by 1.2 points to 8.8 percent during the quarter.

“We are executing on all points of our strategy to drive growth in every product category and in every part of the world,” said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO. “These results are early signs of our progress against our five strategic priorities. Through a continued focus, we expect to continue growing faster than the industry and increase our revenue, profitability and cash flow for greater shareholder value.”

Earnings per share in the quarter were affected by the following items:

• $106 million in expense, or four cents per share, related to the realignment of our business, including severance costs and facility closures;
• $26 million, or one cent per share, in amortization expense of purchased intangible assets;
• $19 million in expense, or one cent per share, in investigation related costs;
• A $42 million increase in financing and other income, or two cents per share, related to an error in currency exchange rates from prior periods;
• A $46 million, or two cents per share, reversal in the provision for employee bonuses for fiscal 2008; and,
• A reduction in a litigation reserve related to a favorable ruling in a patent case of $55 million, or two cents per share.

Dell’s headcount has been reduced by 7,000 in the past year – including a reduction of about 3,700 in the first quarter – or 8 percent before the impact of acquisitions. Dell has added about 2,700 employees through acquisitions, making the net reduction for the company about 5 percent.

Operating expenses were 12.9 percent of revenue for the quarter. Cash flow from operations was $143 million and impacted by lower payables and tax and bonus payments. The company still expects to generate cash flow from operations in excess of net income on an annualized basis. Dell ended the quarter with $9.8 billion in cash and investments and weighted average shares were 2.04 billion.

In the quarter, Dell issued $1.5 billion in private placement and medium- and long-term notes to be used for general corporate purposes. Dell spent more than $1 billion to repurchase 52 million shares of stock and plans to spend at least $1 billion on share repurchase in the second quarter.

Regional Highlights

Revenue from outside the United States during the quarter surpassed revenue from the U.S. for the first time. BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – led accelerated growth in emerging countries with 73 percent year-over-year increase in shipments and 58 percent increase in revenue, and accounted for almost 9 percent of Dell’s total revenue.

• Asia-Pacific and Japan Commercial (APJ): Revenue in the quarter grew by 19 percent on a 31 percent increase in units. Operating income was up 52 percent on a balanced country, segment and product performance. India and China led the region with revenue increases of 52 percent and 30 percent, and unit shipment growth of 68 percent and 43 percent, respectively. APJ growth continued strong across all product categories, with shipment increases of 46 percent in notebooks, 23 percent in server shipments and 25 percent in desktops.
• Americas Commercial: Total unit growth was up 3 percent driven by an 11 percent increase in notebooks and a 20 percent increase in servers, which was more than four times the rate of the industry.
• Europe, Middle East and Africa Commercial (EMEA): Revenue increased 15 percent and shipments were up 30 percent, with a 59 percent increase in shipments of notebooks. Storage revenue increased 48 percent. Unit growth in the region was led by the largest countries: United Kingdom up 20 percent; Germany up 26 percent and France up 14 percent.

Strategic Priority Highlights

• Global Consumer: On improved profitability, revenue grew 20 percent driven by a 47 percent increase in shipments. Dell grew units at more than two times the rate of the industry and increased its global share by 1.2 points to 8.8 percent. In addition to its online and telephone sales channels, Dell expanded its global retail presence, adding Suning in China and Costco in the U.S. to reach more than 13,000 retail locations worldwide.
• Enterprise: Server revenues were up 4 percent on a 21 percent increase in units, Dell’s fastest unit growth in more than two years and three times the rate of the industry. The company gained 1.5 points of share in the quarter. Storage revenue jumped 15 percent driven by strong growth from Dell’s PowerVault direct attached products and a full quarter of EqualLogic offerings. Based on company estimates, Dell again took share worldwide in the first quarter. Enhanced services revenue was up 13 percent aided by the first full quarter of the new ProSupport solutions. A leading indicator of services growth – the deferred services revenue balance – grew 23 percent to $5.4 billion. Dell’s Cloud-Computing service and design model is powering about half of the fastest growing Chinese internet companies as well as the largest portal in China. With launch of the Dell EqualLogic PS5000 series IP SANs and the Dell/EMC AX4 and 5i SANs, Dell extended its position as the No. 1 provider worldwide of iSCSI SAN solutions.
• Notebooks: Notebook units grew 43 percent year-over-year with revenue growth of 22 percent. In the quarter, Dell released its first fully ruggedized laptop, the Latitude XFR D630. In Global Consumer, notebook units increased 78 percent and made up 60 percent of the product mix.
• Small and Medium Business: Dell announced a redesigned Vostro laptop line for small businesses, including the 13.3-inch Vostro 1310 and the 15.4 inch Vostro 1510. These products are further expansion of Dell’s products designed specifically for small business customers, including servers, storage and services.
• Emerging Countries: BRIC plus the 10 targeted countries in Dell’s emerging countries priority accelerated revenue 47 percent. The company launched the Dell 500 notebook, designed specifically for the needs of emerging countries, which it is shipping to great demand in China and India. The Partner Direct program was launched in Europe and APJ in the quarter.

Company Outlook

Dell will continue to incur costs as it realigns its business to improve competitiveness, reduce headcount and invest in infrastructure and acquisitions. The company is seeing conservatism in IT spending in the U.S. particularly with its global and large customers as well as public, small and medium business accounts. Dell expects the conservatism to continue through the summer, particularly as many of these customer segments are seasonally slower. Dell does not expect the significant component-cost reductions experienced during the first half of last year. In addition, the company also expects to have lower investment and other income driven by reduced investment balances with lower interest rates and increased interest expense driven by a higher level of debt.

Dell expects to continue to benefit from improving performance in areas like emerging countries, notebooks, enterprise and services, which collectively are driving a more diversified portfolio of geographies and products.

Against this backdrop, the company recently shared its goal to lower total cost and is targeting $3 billion in annualized savings by fiscal 2011. Dell’s focus remains on growing units faster than the industry, increasing revenue, profitability and cash flow, and making decisions that deliver the best long-term result.

Dell Packs More Punch in New Green Small-Business PC

Dell today announced the Energy Smart Vostro 410 desktop, delivering industry-leading performance and expandability in a system designed exclusively for small businesses. The latest in a series of energy-efficient products and initiatives designed to drive unprecedented customer savings, the Vostro 410 starts at $599 and saves customers up to 47 percent in annual energy costs.

• Customer Feedback Drives Performance, Expandability Improvements Six Months Ahead of Schedule
• Vostro Energy Smart 410 Desktop Saves Customers up to 47 Percent in Annual Energy Costs
• First EPEAT Gold-certified Dell Flat Panel Monitor Also Available

The Vostro 410 is available tomorrow in North and South America and the United Kingdom. It will be available to customers in Asia and the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“Small businesses are increasingly concerned about rising energy costs,” said Frank Muehleman, vice president and general manager, Dell Small and Medium Business. “With the Energy Smart Vostro desktop, we’re able to save our customers money and collectively cut down on CO2 emissions, while delivering the features and functionality they require - especially high-performance processing power, graphics technology, fast networking and maximum expandability.”

Direct customer feedback guided Dell to design and deliver the Vostro 410 desktop six months earlier in the product cycle than originally planned. Customer-driven enhancements include:

• Outstanding desktop performance with Intel Core 2 Quad processors, 512MB graphics cards and 800MHz system memory;
• A larger “tower” design to allow the desktop to grow according to business needs with space for up to four hard drives vs. two in the Vostro 400 and up to 3TB of local storage and memory;
• More expansion slots (six vs. standard four) and bays (four vs. standard three), holding up to six PCIe/PCI cards to increase configuration flexibility;
• Gigabit Ethernet for fast wired network access;
• Continuation of Dell’s 30-day worry-free return policy; and
• Available with no trial ware and free services including 10GB of Dell DataSafe Online Backup, Dell Network Assistant and Dell Automated PC TuneUp.

“The changes we’ve made to the Vostro 410 aren’t moderate improvements but an unrivaled combination of performance and expandability for a small-business PC,” said Muehleman. “For customers running complex spreadsheets or databases, multi-tasking frequently and heavily, or using video-intensive applications, you can’t beat the Vostro 410.”

In addition, Vostro customers can take advantage of Dell’s new services portfolio, ProSupport, which gives them the ability to customize and tailor services to fit their technical expertise and business needs. With growing demand for mobile technology among small businesses, Dell also recently announced its refreshed line of Vostro laptops.

To complement the Energy Smart Vostro 410, Dell announced today worldwide availability of its first EPEAT Gold-certified display – the E207 20-inch widescreen flat panel monitor. More than 25 percent of its plastics are made from recycled materials, plus flat panel monitors save customers up to 28 percent in annual energy costs when compared to using a boxier CRT monitor. The E207 display starts at $259.

Dell’s Commitment to the ReGeneration

On World Environment Day 2007, Dell announced it would partner with the ReGeneration – people of all ages who care about the environment – to become the “greenest” technology company on the planet. The company has since pledged to become the first in its industry to neutralize the carbon impact of worldwide operations by the end of 2008.

Dell offers the industry’s only free recycling program for consumers and an award-winning suite of asset recovery services for businesses. Launched in January 2007, Dell’s “Plant a Tree for Me” program helps customers offset the CO2 emissions related to their use of IT products. Expanded to corporate partners in September 2007, “Plant a Forest for Me” enables organizations worldwide to share best practices and facilitate the planting of trees in sustainably managed reforestation projects.

Channel Favors Dell

Dell’s Placement in Channel Product Ranking Reflects Key Channel Values.

• Solution providers participating in the annual 2008 eWeek Channel Insider Product of the Year Awards voted Dell the preferred notebook and desktop provider among all OEMs.
• Dell finished second in the Product of the Year server infrastructure category. Along with its blade offerings, Dell also offers a leading portfolio of storage products and managed services to channel customers, including EqualLogic, and ProSupport.
• Dell’s strong showing comes only a year after the company announced its intent to formalize a channel program – PartnerDirect – and only six months after PartnerDirect was launched in the U.S., eWeek was moved to refer to Dell as “the darling of the channel.”
• To facilitate direct communication with the channel, the Dell Channel blog was launched in conjunction with the company’s inaugural Partner Advisory Council .
• “We are delighted to be recognized by the channel as a leading provider of quality products that enable the channel to grow its own profitability,” said Greg Davis, vice president and general manager of Americas Channel Group. “We are continuing to refine our understanding of partner needs, and look forward to offering new services and products that will enable our partners to grow.”
• “Dell has stressed that they view the channel as their direct customer with whom they will build a partnership based upon integrity, trust, and open (transparent) communication,” said Tim Hebert, president, Atrion Networking. “I am excited to see the future of Dell’s PartnerDirect program.”

Dell to Appoint Brian Gladden Chief Financial Officer

Dell today announced that Brian Gladden will succeed Don Carty, vice chairman and Chief Financial Officer, as senior vice president and CFO. Mr. Carty has resigned. He will remain a member of the board of directors, which he joined in 1992.

Mr. Gladden joins Dell as Senior Vice President and will assume the CFO role when Mr. Carty leaves. Reporting to Michael Dell, CEO and chairman, Mr. Gladden will be responsible for all aspects of Dell’s finance function including accounting, financial planning and analysis, tax, treasury, audit, and investor relations.

Prior to joining Dell, Mr. Gladden was President and Chief Executive Officer of SABIC Innovative Plastics Holding BV, formerly GE Plastics, and among the world's largest producers of high-performance polymers used by electronics, office equipment, computer, and automotive manufacturers.

“Don has played a key role in reestablishing transparency and integrity in our financial practices and we are extremely grateful to have had his leadership. We look forward to his continuing contributions and experience.” said Mr. Dell. “We look forward to welcoming Brian as an operationally focused CFO whose skills in running multi-billion-dollar enterprises and substantial experience with an industry leader make him an ideal fit for the global economies in which we operate.”

“I am excited to be joining Dell at a time of transformation,” said Mr. Gladden. “Don has led an exceptional finance team, driving a culture of accountability and operational control. I look forward to contributing with the aim of maximizing long-term shareholder value.”

Mr. Gladden’s responsibilities as President and CEO of SABIC Innovative Plastics Holding BV spanned a global organization with revenues of $7 billion and some 10,000 employees operating 60 manufacturing and technology facilities in 20 countries.

His previous experience includes nearly 20 years with General Electric (GE) in a variety of financial and management leadership roles. He served as Vice President and General Manager of GE Plastics’ resin business; CFO of GE Plastics; and, Vice President and CFO of GE Medical Systems Healthcare IT business during his career with the company. He was named a GE corporate officer in 2002 while CFO of GE Plastics and had formerly served on GE’s corporate audit staff for five years.

Mr. Gladden received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and finance from Millersville University in Millersville, Pa.

Dell Laptops Make The Grade

Colleges and universities that want to make mobile technology more accessible and affordable for their students are increasingly turning to Dell, the leading supplier of computer systems to higher education customers.

Several higher education customers have recently chosen Dell as the preferred supplier of laptops to offer as many as 115,000 students a mobile solution.

At Ivy Tech Community College, more than 110,000 students now have the ability to purchase Latitude D531 laptops as part of an agreement with Dell. Ivy Tech is the nation’s largest singly-accredited statewide community college system and the state of Indiana’s second largest public post-secondary institution.

“We want to consistently assure that our students are provided the best possible tools while here at Ivy Tech,” said Ivy Tech Community College President Thomas J. Snyder. “Partnering with Dell allows us to offer our students access to the technology that will help them succeed.”

Quinnipiac University, which ranked No. 9 on PC Magazine’s listing of the “Top 20 Wired Colleges,”2 has chosen Dell for its laptop program, now in its fifth year campus-wide, for its approximately 1,500 incoming freshmen students.

“The ability to bring Dell mobile technology into the classroom has expanded the teaching and learning experience, allowing for more active engagement and increased connectivity between students and faculty,” said Dr. Richard Ferguson, vice president and chief information and technology officer, Quinnipiac University.

Case Western Reserve University has made wireless connectivity pervasive across the campus with more than 1,500 wireless access points. Case Western Reserve’s medical school has a partnership with Dell in which the 170 incoming students are provided with a Dell laptop as part of the program.

“The mobility and wireless capability for these students has transformed the learning environment by allowing students to stay connected while doing rounds and visiting with the clinical research community,” said Lev Gonick, chief information officer and vice president, information services, Case Western Reserve University.

Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, selected Dell as a preferred partner for the new school-wide undertaking Acadia Advantage 2.0, which reinforces that technology is an integral part of the overall learning and teaching experience offered at the university. Through Acadia’s relationship with Dell, students now will purchase their laptops through the university and will own the system when they’ve completed their degree. This coming September, more than 3,000 students will purchase new laptops through Acadia Advantage 2.0, choosing from offerings that include the Dell Latitude D630.

“In today’s campus environment, students demand laptops that can deliver value and performance for a number of uses, including class assignments, research, gaming and music,” said John Mullen, vice president, Dell Higher Education. “Dell is committed to working with educational institutions to help simplify access to the innovative technology that drives the learning experience every day.”

Dell Sets New Energy-Efficiency Computing Standard To Drive Unprecedented Customer Savings

Dell today announced aggressive plans to further reduce the energy consumption of its products, avoid millions of tons of CO2 emissions worldwide and drive unprecedented customer value.

• Commits to Increasing Laptop and Desktop Energy Efficiency an Additional 25 Percent
• Offers Tools, Resources and 80 PLUS Power Supplies to Help Customers Reduce CO2 Emissions and Save Energy Costs

The company’s laptops and desktops, already among the industry’s most energy-efficient, are being designed to consume up to 25 percent less energy by 2010 relative to systems offered today. This is in contrast to Hewlett-Packard’s announcement earlier this year relative to its 2005 offerings. The energy efficiency of Dell OptiPlex desktops has improved nearly 50 percent since 2005, while Latitude laptops have improved 16 percent since 2006.

“Our customers are inspiring us to address the environmental challenges facing our planet,” said Albert Esser, vice president of power and infrastructure solutions, Dell Product Group. “We’ve listened to them and are designing next-generation technologies that dramatically reduce energy consumption, drive meaningful cost savings and help achieve a low-carbon economy. It’s the right thing for our business, our customers and shared environment.”

Dell plans to achieve its energy-efficiency goals by continuing to integrate Energy Smart technologies, including circuit designs, fans and power management features. The company is also working closely with its supplier base to further develop and deliver energy-efficient components, including chip sets, power supplies and memory.

Translating Energy Efficiency into Cost Savings

Based on worldwide unit sales beginning in 2005 with power-management features enabled, Dell estimates that OptiPlex desktop systems alone have helped customers save more than $2.4 billion and avoid approximately 23 million tons of CO2.

The company currently enables desktop customers to lower energy costs by offering more 80 PLUS certified power supplies than any other Tier-1 manufacturer. The 80 PLUS specification aligns to the power-supply requirements in the EPA’s Energy Star 4.0 standard for computers and requires the use of 80 percent or more efficient power supplies.

Dell is the first Tier-1 manufacturer to offer a bronze-level supply.

The company also provides free, easy-to-use tools and resources to plan and manage power consumption. Dell’s OpenManage systems management portfolio helps organizations reduce power consumption by providing functionality to more effectively set and maintain Energy Smart configurations across client PCs. Customers also can access online calculators to measure and assess potential impact to their power bills. Laptop, desktop and server customers are able to compare configurations side by side to determine annual cost savings and CO2 emissions avoided through the use of energy smart systems.

Dell’s Commitment to the ReGeneration

On World Environment Day 2007, Dell announced it would partner with the ReGeneration – people of all ages who care about the environment – to become the “greenest” technology company on the planet. The company has since pledged to become the first in its industry to neutralize the carbon impact of worldwide operations by the end of 2008.

Last month, Dell announced that its corporate headquarters campus is powered with 100 percent ‘green’ energy. The company has already saved more than $1.2 million and avoided 8,200 tons of CO2 through replacing lights and retrofitting air conditioning units throughout central Texas facilities. The company has also saved more than $1.8 million and avoided 11,000 tons of CO2 through a global power-management initiative with 1E.

Dell offers the industry’s only free recycling program for consumers and an award-winning suite of asset recovery services for businesses. CERES recently recognized Dell for providing “extensive discussion on the company’s recovery, reuse and recycling efforts, including global recycling and environmental standards, consumer recycling and donation programs, commercial asset recovery services, and transparent reporting.”

Dell Helps Customers Get More Computer For Their Tax Dollars

As more and more Americans are receiving their tax relief checks from Uncle Sam, many will use the money to buy a laptop or desktop computer. Dell is making those technology dollars go further as customers choose certain models for education, business and entertainment.

A Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) study estimates that approximately one in five Americans receiving a tax rebate will spend it on consumer electronics. Topping that list are personal computers.

“Technology remains essential to consumers in this uncertain economic environment,” said Shawn DuBravac, economist for the Consumer Electronics Association. “CEA research shows that 53% of consumers who say they’re planning on using some of their stimulus check on consumer electronics will put a portion of that money towards a computer purchase.”

Starting today, customers can buy a select new Inspiron 530s for about $300 (monitor not included). For about $600, customers can buy a select Inspiron 1525 laptop. For about $1200, customers can purchase a fully configured select XPS M1530 laptop. About a dozen laptops and desktops will be featured for customers to buy in the next two weeks with their new-found windfall.

“For the next two weeks, this promo is all about making Dell’s award-winning desktops and notebooks accessible to more customers,” said Phil Bryant, vice president Americas’ consumer sales. “We think customers will be delighted by the range of systems on sale and will want to use their tax rebates to upgrade to a new laptop or desktop.”

In addition to the variety of laptops and desktops on sale, Dell is also offering a discount on other electronics to help customers get the most out of their digital lifestyle. They include digital cameras, global positioning systems (GPS) and the latest high-definition televisions.

Dell To Donate Up To RMB 2.1 Million To Chinese Earthquake Relief

Dell and its employees will donate up to RMB 2.1 million to aid relief efforts in the wake of the massive earthquake affecting China Monday – the second major disaster to hit Asia in less than a week.

“While our employees in Chengdu and Chongqing are safe and accounted for, thousands of families in the region have been impacted by these disasters,” said Michael Dell, Dell’s chairman and CEO, who is visiting China this week on company business. “I’ve experienced firsthand the concern of our employees, customers and suppliers. We hope our donations will make a difference to the thousands affected.”

The company’s contributions will come from Dell Inc., the Dell Foundation and Dell employees, whose funds will be matched by Dell through the company’s Direct Giving program.

2008 marks Dell’s 10th year doing business in China. The company employs more than 6,000 people across the country in several locations, including facilities in Chengdu and Chongqing, two manufacturing plants in Xiamen, an Enterprise Command Center in Xiamen, a global product-design/engineering center in Shanghai (one of Dell’s largest outside the United States), and an international service center in Dalian for customers in Japan and South Korea. Last year, Dell employees volunteered more than 7,000 hours and the company donated RMB 5 million to Chinese charities.