As network managers, we choose vendors who offer the best equipment at the best price. But if their technical support isn't up to snuff and we can't get our equipment serviced, thus raising the total cost of ownership (TCO), what good is a low selling price?
So the question is: After the glitz of the Web site has faded and the computer has been delivered, does Dell stand behind its computers? What is the true TCO of a Dell computer?
The TCO of a Dell machine, at least for a small business, usually includes only the cost of the hard-ware. Not included are the hours spent on the phone with a technical support person. Multiply the hourly rate of your staff member who must spend time on the phone with Dell for support, and the TCO increases. In Dell's defense, telephone diagnosis of a computer is not easy, especially when the cus-tomer's knowledge level can range from super novice to super engineer.
In addition, Dell faces the same problem as countless other companies: finding and keeping qualified technical support personnel. "Here's the tricky part, trying to find thousands of technically minded people to man the telephones. We've pretty much sucked Austin dry," a Dell employee told me. "There was a point there for a while when Dell would hire hundreds of people a week; now it's hard to even get somebody in the door that's worth a second look. It's tough to find Silicon Valley talent in the silicon gulch."
Nevertheless, Dell receives high marks from large enterprise customers. Paul Smith, who handles desktop support at Millipore Corp., a Dell preferred customer, told me, "We've been using the Premier service for about a year, and Millipore is thrilled with the support and response we've received from Dell."
Dell provides a plethora of information and services to corporate clients. Dell's Premier service, which is available to preferred, large and enterprise customers (the terms Dell uses on its Web site for such customers change daily), includes customizable Web sites. The Premier pages permit the customer to create a personalized Dell extranet, be it for the customer's ultimate end user, IT group or accounting department.
Areas on the Premier pages include technical support, diagnostic tools, Return Material Authorization forms and "practical tools for commerce, help desk activities [and] order status." Dell also offers several different levels of support for the enterprise, from programs for the self-maintaining company (Dell will even certify your staff) to on-site service agreements . Dell seems to have covered the gamut.
One enterprise customer I spoke to, a staff member at the Australian Department of Defense, ex-pressed disappointment with Dell's technical support, noting if a DoD staffer showed "the level of knowledge of systems that Dell technical staff display, they'd be shown the door." He added, however, that "Dell's offerings have proven to be above average for reliability and value, and people seem to be quite happy with their aesthetics."
In addition, Dell has one of the most dynamic Web sites I've ever visited. In several visits over the course of a week, page content changed, sometimes dramatically, as did the marketing terms already mentioned. Not that there's anything wrong with that, to quote Jerry Seinfeld.
So, if you're a large enterprise looking for a vendor to supply your corporate and individual employee hardware and software needs, Dell Computers should be on your short list.
Spivak is president and owner of SBA * Consulting, an IT consulting firm, and SBA.NET.WEB, an Internet consulting company. He can be reached at wspivak@sbanetweb.com.