Corporate IT spending will recover during the second quarter of
next year, according to Kevin Rollins, Dell's president and chief
operating officer.
Based on a worldwide survey of chief information officers, which
showed that half plan to resume normal spending on IT during the
second quarter of 2002, Rollins predicted that a "refreshment
cycle" of IT purchases will kick in as companies update year
2000-related IT investments made in 1999.
Rollins' prediction underlines Dell's confidence. The company has
become the leader in worldwide PC shipments during the severe
downturn in the IT industry. Rollins claimed that much of Dell's
success could be attributed to the effectiveness of its
customer-focused business model.
Rollins, who drove the company to that business strategy, told
delegates at the Nikkei Global Management Forum in Tokyo that
Dell's customer relationship management system worked well,
particularly after the 11 September attacks on the US.
The company was able to contact most affected parties through its
database, which can track down users' postcodes.
Dell's business model has given it a 39% market share in the US
corporate users market, Rollins said.
However, he conceded that Dell is not doing as well in the global
PC markets. Rollins said the company's PC market share outside the
US is 6%, and Dell is trying to reach 40%, which "may take some
time to achieve".
The top five PC vendors worldwide only control 45% of the market at
the moment, according to figures from analyst International Data
Corporation.
Dell also plans to build stronger brand images for its products
during the next few years. "As 85% of revenue comes from corporate
users, Dell is not a consumer brand," said Rollins. "That is a
place where we need to improve."