Industry Profile: Dell

AINDUSTRY PROFILE: DELL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT Citizens expect more from government than ever before. Throughout the nation, public policy-makers and government executives struggle to address heightened demands for security, information sharing and other technology components as they focus on improving homeland defense. The current environment places greater urgency on technology issues The company also collaborates with some of the most respected such as continuity of operations, information assurance, mobility and names in the technology industry to deliver true solutions to govern- electronic transactions. And as Americans make these new demands ment’s IT needs. Dell’s alliances with Microsoft and Intel help ensure on government institutions, government can rely on Dell for IT that public agencies receive advanced, yet proven, answers to emerging solutions that help it respond to the challenge. technology challenges. Dell’s long-standing partnership with government uniquely positions “Microsoft and Intel set the standards for this industry. Through our the company to meet today’s evolving IT requirements. For nearly 20 partnerships with those companies, government customers get the years, Dell has been a key supplier of information technology solutions very best solutions from really relevant innovators,” McFarland said. to the public sector, providing a range of reliable, industry-standard “In many cases, we can literally start delivering Intel’s latest chip the products and dependable services to back them up. day after it becomes available, so we can take new technology to the government market as soon as they are ready for it.” Dell pioneered the factory-direct sales model for computer technology, which allows customers to receive the latest equipment at low cost. Working in concert with these industry pioneers allows Dell to deliver The benefits of this model have never been more significant as breakthrough solutions more quickly than ever before. For example, government agencies scramble to meet a new set of IT imperatives. Intel works closely with Dell to ensure that the company’s PCs and Dell’s direct customer relationships mean government requirements servers contain the latest processor technologies and architectures — rapidly are reflected in available product lines; therefore critical tech- and that they comply with vital industry standards. nology reaches users without delay. But Dell’s capabilities go beyond products. The company’s broad spectrum “We’re engineering products from a hardware and software standpoint of integration and support services combine to deliver comprehensive to take advantage of new technologies that support vital issues like technology solutions from a single, trusted supplier. For government, mobility and continuity of operations,” said Bob McFarland, Dell’s vice that’s a model that streamlines technology acquisition, while helping president of government. “Our direct business model allows us to to improve accountability and control costs. quickly develop equipment that meets customer needs and get it into the mainstream.” Finally, all of this comes from a stable, $31 billion technology company with a long-term commitment to meeting public-sector IT needs. So Dell solutions are available through a wide array of convenient state and local contract vehicles. The company also offers leasing programs and other acquisition and support options tailored to the way government does business. Government may be facing an urgent new set of IT requirements, but the solution remains the same: Dell. The company delivers unmatched resources and manufacturing agility at a time when public institutions are responding to unprecedented technology challenges. Here’s a closer look at how Dell addresses some of government’s most pressing IT needs. 2 ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT Dell Wireless Notebooks Help Improve Emergency Response In the event of a catastrophe, Orange County, Calif.’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) must be up and running in 30 minutes. The facility, Continuity of operated under the direction of Sheriff Michael S. Carona, serves as a nerve center for countywide disaster-response operations for a population Operations of nearly 3 million. There was an era when continuity of operations planning occupied a When activated, the EOC houses public safety officials, county department sub-set in governments’ overall electronic strategy. Recent events, heads, elected representatives and other key personnel, allowing them to however, catapulted this overlooked operations element to priority status deliver a unified response to major emergencies. These officials rely on as the potentially catastrophic results of a disabled government Dell laptop PCs to manage the torrent of information generated during a became frighteningly clear. disaster situation. Ensuring the continuity of government operations represents a huge “We have a cart plugged in and ready to go with 20 preprogrammed wire- concern for public officials. Dell responds to this requirement with less laptops. They’re loaded with all the software we need to handle continuity of operations solutions based on three cornerstones: high- information flow for emergency management,” said Sheriff Carona, of the availability systems designed to survive unexpected failures and Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “The technology allows us to net- outages; planning and recovery services that prepare organizations to work within the building, as well as with state and local agencies and withstand disruptive events; and disaster recovery strategies that other EOCs.” allow agencies to quickly resume agency-critical operations after catastrophies occur. The department chose Dell Latitude business-class notebooks to equip the facility. The machines include Dell’s TrueMobile™ wireless LAN technology. 1 Although these elements are enabled by hardware and software, their “We’ve been really happy with them,” said the EOC Commander, Captain success resides in creating an effective mix of people, processes and Catherine Zurn of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “Our information technology. systems people felt that Dell was the best product for the job.” Dell consulting services help government agencies design and implement She said wireless technology provides flexibility that is vital to operating infrastructures that provide continuity of vital government functions. the EOC, which consists of an operations room, a support room and a com- Support offerings include deployment, installation, training and all- mand room. important systems testing. Working with select partners, Dell creates applications and systems that deliver high availability based on “We may choose to only activate the support room, which houses the pub- sophisticated redundancy, clustering and fail-over strategies. The com- lic hotline. We could take all 20 computers and put them in there. Or we pany’s disaster-recovery solutions include advanced back-up systems may only activate the command room for the policy-makers, and we may that support off-site storage facilities and mirrored data centers. just need five computers in there,” Zurn said. “Wireless technology allows us to move the equipment wherever it needs to go.” Dell deploys these techniques in its own operations before offering them to customers, helping to ensure that government agencies She added that the technology — in use since last summer — improves receive proven solutions for safeguarding critical public services. In emergency communications and strengthens the tracking and manage- other words, the company uses the same systems it sells to clients. ment of resources during a crisis. In the future, the county expects to link That’s a core business principle for Dell, and it results in superior tech- the EOC to mobile data terminals mounted in law enforcement vehicles nology for government customers. and even connect with law enforcement helicopters. Recognizing that requirements and resources vary among jurisdictions, Clearly, the new laptops and wireless network deliver vast improvement Dell’s business-continuity offerings are both scalable and cost- over the EOC’s previous technology. effective. The company provides a cohesive set of servers, storage devices, software and services that form the building blocks of an “We had individual computers and hard drives on the tables, but we didn’t effective continuity of operations strategy. It’s an approach that allows use them much,” she said. “Our Dell solution allows us to manage the agencies to implement solutions as they need them, adding features emergency information flow much more effectively. We’re very happy with as new resources become available. it and excited about expanding the system.” 1Connect at rate of 11 Mbps up to 100m from connected access point. Range and speed may vary due to num- ber of users, interference, transmission barriers (such as walls and building material), and other factors. www.dell.com/expectmore Mobility Agencies at all levels of government face the task of quickly delivering comprehensive information to law enforcement officers, inspectors, security personnel and other mobile workers. Dell’s broad array of mobile technology solutions addresses these needs reliably and securely. With two notebook lines and a line of advanced mobile workstations, Dell offers portable computing products to support agency needs. The Dell Notebooks Hit the Road with company’s comprehensive product selection allows government customers to choose the combination

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