Dell has launched its OEM (original equipment manufacture) business in South Africa, giving local entrepreneurs the opportunity to make use of the Dell technology, engineering and production lines to develop products and solutions for their specific requirements.
Dermot O’Connell, executive director and GM: OEM Solutions at Dell EMC EMEA, says that the OEM team will give South African companies access to quality Dell components to build into their own products.
And, rather than simply providing white box equipment for local companies to integrate into their solution, Dell will manufacture the complete product, on behalf of the local company, in its own world-class manufacturing facilities.
So far, about 400 EMEA customers are taking advantage of the Dell OEM offering, says O’Connell, adding that the team is particularly excited about the opportunities in the South African market.
The biggest vertical markets in EMEA are in industrial automation and control systems, where Internet of Things (IoT) deployments are taking place.
In South Africa, security and CCTV are expected to be big opportunities, along with mining and manufacturing applications.
Companies wishing to take advantage of Dell’s OEM offering would engage with the company on product design. Although the local team in South Africa is still quite small, engineers and designers from Europe can be quickly flown in to consult with customers.
“If you wanted to make your own product tomorrow, we would help you to define it; and help you to build it. You can then focus on what you do.”
The EMEA OEM team is a sizable operation, with 600 people addressing about 40 industry verticals ranging to defence to healthcare and security.
Physical building takes place in Lodz, Poland, and finished products are then distributed from the Amsterdam global integration centre.
The reason Dell can perform what is essentially custom manufacturing cost-effectively is because its manufacturing facilities have traditionally catered for a build-to-order environment, and so they are designed with flexibility built in.
“So the whole operation is actually geared to this way of working,” says O’Connell. “TO build just one system is not a big deal – so the cost is not as high as you would think. And that is why we can be very cost-effective.”
He stresses that Dell will also assist with global shipping, deployment and even support.
With IoT becoming a big opportunity around the world, O’Connell believes Dell is well positioned to help local companies to bring their ideas and solutions to fruition.
“We love IoT – and now that everyone wants to talk about IoT we believe we have positioned ourselves as very much the connector in the cloud. We believe that getting these things connected in a secure and efficient way will make a big difference.”
The full Dell OEM product offering also includes IoT gateways, embedded systems and the broader Dell EMC portfolio, ranging from tablet PCs to largest consolidated infrastructure offerings designed to deliver mission-critical workloads for critical applications. In addition to standard Dell EMC products, OEMs can work with Dell EMC specialists to develop, implement and test their own offerings for customers, from unbranded, customised hardware to high-quality software solutions.
Following this expansion of Dell EMC OEM Solutions and dedicated local specialists, customers in South Africa will also benefit from the availability of specialist OEM solutions such as the Dell Edge Gateway 5000 and Dell Edge Gateway 5100, and the Dell Embedded Box PC 3000 and 5000. These products will be available locally from November.
Ongoing relationships with channel partners, ISVs and System Integrators via the Dell OEM Partner Program and the Dell IOT Solutions Partner Program, enable Dell customers to benefit from this technical collaboration and drive tremendous agility and innovation in their industries.