Dell computer's tech and strategies
1 PREFACE We are living in the era of information The 21st century has come with more than ever powerful working tools: the computer, the Internet, and Information technology The computer has been playing an increasingly important role in the daily lives of people, families, organizations and businesses With their huge computing and processing power, computers have boosted up productivity, increased accuracy, saved time, and become essential equipments for almost every business today Together with the widely application of the Internet and Information technology, the computer has become even more powerful tool which improves every aspect of people’ lives Owning to its power and functionalities, the demand for computer has increased continuously over years, pushing the PC (personal computer) industry become one of the most competitive and dynamic Within years from 2006 to 2010, the worldwide PC sales almost doubled and stay at more than 300 million units in 2010 Large computer companies today spend billions of dollars annually on innovating new technology, developing new products in order to gain the top position on the market Besides, due to the fast pace of changing, as a feature of the industry, computer firms have to adjust their overall strategies continuously to stay strong Dell Inc is one typical example of successful computer enterprise by using appropriate strategies toward technology innovation and operation With innovation based on standardization, direct sales model, and the support of modern and fast information technology system, Dell keeps in hand key comparative advantages to win the first position in the market for many years Until now, Dell still remains as the toughest competitor for any PC maker Being attracted by the eventful computer industry and efficient operation of Dell Inc., the writer decides to choose the PC industry as the theme and Dell Computer is in the centre for this working paper Within the limited volume of this thesis, the writer will go through three parts: The first part introduces briefly about the computer industry, technology development, strategies of enterprises regarding technology innovation and development as well as some short stories of leading companies The second part talks about Dell Inc., including its history of development, its strategies of technology innovation and operation, and its global expansion This part will analyze how the combination of creative technology development policies and business model help this firm becomes one of the leading computer makers in the world The third part will be about technology development in Vietnam in globalization scenario, Vietnamese technology enterprises and some lessons withdrawn from Dell Computer’s success and failure for them Due to the limited time and knowledge of the writer, this paper inevitably contains some limitations and shortcomings Therefore, the writer would like to receive every feedback or comment from teachers and people who interested in this topic to improve the quality of the thesis Chapter 1: OVERVIEW OF TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF COMPUTER ENTERPRISES IN GLOBALIZATION 1.1 Overview of technology development in computer industry in the world: The personal computer (PC) industry is one of the strangest and most dynamic in the world Probably there is no other kind of product that is so technologically sophisticated, changed so rapidly, sells for so much money, and is sold by so many companies for not much profit The fierce competition in this industry is the reason why so many problems are encountered by those who deal with PC vendors Since PC could be assembled from standardized components without much expertise required and the barriers to entry are not as tough as in the past, new computer business is established on a frequent basis As a result, there are thousands of companies making PCs that perform similar functions pushing the market to be extremely price-competitive Since the market is so competitive, vendors often sell at very low margins Computers are not the same as many other products, where the company selling the device is making upwards of 50% of the price of the product as gross profit For PCs it is often around 10% Additionally, there is probably no other industry that has prices change as dramatically and frequently as the PC industry Usually, prices are decreasing This is good for the consumer but very bad for vendors, because it means that their already low margins get squeezed if prices drop between the time that they buy a product and the time they sell it Drop in the price of PC comes from both severe competition and rapid changes in technology As a consequence, PC makers often prefer to keep low inventories Whenever prices fall, the vendors potentially lose money on every component in inventory at the time Due to the rapid frequency of changes in technology, functionalities and capacity of computers are improved continuously, broadening PC’s definition over time In the dawn of PC industry, a computer was a bulky device, furnished with some simple functions and small volume, but extremely costly Today, people could possess small handheld devices which are integrated with processing power and functions tens times better than huge mainframes decades ago The PC industry has a strong connection with the software industry and the application of the Internet These two peripheral industries have accelerated the speed of technology innovation even faster In years recent, a computer device has evolved into a centre for all the digital peripheral such as music players, digital cameras, video recorders, internet TV, etc With the technology evolution, computers have become the ever powerful tools that are essential for any success business and modern families; and the PC industry become one of the most strategic industries in the world in the 21st century 1.1.1 Velocity of development and innovation: The personal computer industry has grown from a hobbyist industry in the 1970s to a highly profitable industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide Driven by consumer demand to access the Internet and the advancements of microprocessor technologies, the demand for PCs for personal and business use has climbed continuously in the early 21st century The PC industry is one among the fastest growing industries in the world According to a research carried out by Etforcasts, the annual worldwide PC sales has a trend to double every six years By 2000, the PC sales was 132 million; and almost doubled in 2006 The velocity of increase in this industry is at a staggering rate of around 9% annually compounded (Table 1) Table 1: Worldwide PC Sales Unit: million PCs Year Worldwide PC Sales 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 24 58 132 207 325 (Source: etforecasts) Another noticeable index is the number of PC in use In 2000, there were more than 500 million units in-use and the figure in 2010 is over 1400 million units almost three times higher (Table 2) Table 2: Worldwide PC in use Unit: million PCs Year Worldwide PC in use 1990 100 1995 225 2000 529 2005 2010 910 1,425 (Source: Etforecasts) The figure above shows that the computer industry has a huge growth potential These growth potentials are fostered by the upgrading of obsolete machines, newly established business around the world, new generation or innovation of computer devices integrated with digital functions Yearly PC sales for the U.S and the main regions of the world are summarized in the next figure North America will remain the largest region through 2007 All figures are in millions of units Figure 1: Annual PC Sales of the main regions of the world (Source Etforecasts) In 2003, the number of PCs sold in the US was roughly about 30% of the total worldwide sales This data indicates that the remaining 70% of the PC sales happened outside the US This shows that there are many opportunities yet to be discovered by firms around the world According to etForcast , Asia will be the region with the fastest growth in computing devices This trend is confirmed by the rapid urbanization and modernization of China in recent years, and expected to continue to grow in the next decade Therefore, it is logical to move the PC manufacturers in the US into the global arena PC revenue was growing slower than unit growth due to considerable price declines and saw a pause the last two years due to lower unit sales growth than price declines The worldwide PC revenues were $251B in 2000, which increased to over $333B in 2007 Worldwide PC revenue declined to $320B in 2010 According to experts of Etforecasts, worldwide PC revenue has a trend to grow again in the next five years to around $400B in 2015, which is due to the unit growth boost from the iPad and competing products To get a clearer picture of the potential of IT industry, have a look at the following figure about computer and peripherals industry in the period from 1999 to 2004 This computer and peripherals industry include products which are computerbased and inter-connected to computers These products are indicators of how well the entire industry is doing in terms of new innovations and future development Figure 2: Computer and Peripherals Industry 1999 – 2004 Unit: billion Dollars This figure is a good indicator of the huge potentials in the IT industry Although the industry had a minor setback in 2001, the net profit and sales remains high for 2004 As mentioned above, IT industry has become a center for computer and peripheral devices There will be a greater demand in networking because computers are more connected to each other Wireless technology will continue to grow in range and speed for more and more information need to transmit between computers and across networks 1.1.2 Overall impact to the development of economies in the world The 21st century comes with more than ever powerful tools which based on the widely use of computers and the Internet The popularity of PCs is phenomenal because it has revolutionized the way people communicate, how information is stored, and people’s ability to access knowledge at their fingertips Besides, PCs have become necessities in the corporate world simply because business processes involve heavy use of computers and Internet In fact, the percentage of population with computer connected to the worldwide network has become one of the key indicators for the level of modernization and human power of economies in the world Following is the figure for some typical countries: Table 3: Internet users per 100 people Country US Japan Germany Australia China Singapore Vietnam 2007 2008 2009 2010 75.2 74.1 78.2 79.3 73.6 74.7 77.4 79.4 75.4 78.3 79.7 82.5 69.6 71.7 74.1 75.8 16.0 22.7 29.0 34.4 67.9 68.0 68.4 70.1 20.9 24.2 26.8 27.8 (Source: World Bank estimates - World Development Indicators) There are two things that can be easily seen from the above table First, the advanced economies often have high percentage of population with computer connected to the Internet Developed countries such as US or Germany have a very high rate, almost four-fifth of the population; meanwhile, developing countries like China or Vietnam stay at much more humble levels This means that internet connection is one of the indicators for the power and modernization of the economies Second, the percentage in general has the trend to increase continuously over time which denotes the increased demand for computers and Internet using People’s job will more and more related to the application of computer and Internet’s functions Information technology has shifted the paradigm of economies In a macroeconomic sense, information technology affects the patterns of production, investment and employment Production structure: as the information technology evolves, the world is now in paradigm shift from the industrial age to the information age As a result, there is a growing demand in the service fields that require expert knowledge and information Thanks to information technology, existing service industries such as banking and distribution are enhancing efficiency and expanding their business areas New industries on the basis of information technology such as software industry and information processing service are rapidly growing The following table is about information and communication technology goods exports include telecommunications, audio and video, computer and related equipment; electronic components; and other information and communication technology goods of some countries The number is taken as percentage over the total goods exports Table 4: ICT goods exports (% of total goods exports) Country\Year US Japan Germany 2007 14.2 2008 12.8 2009 13.0 15.7 14.3 14.7 7.9 6.9 6.8 Australia China Singapore Malaysia 1.8 1.5 1.4 29.1 27.5 29.5 36.2 35.9 35.4 41.6 26.2 38.1 (Source: United Nations Statistics Division's Commodity Trade) The table shows clearly that ICT products is an important part in the production structure of countries, especially Asian developing countries since the percentage is very high (times higher than developed economies) This can be explained as the trend of outsourcing in big technology firms of developed countries to take advantage of cheap labor force and market potential in Asia-Pacific area Investment structure: as information technology changes the aspects of competition, investment is made more in the area of information and communications that promotes productivity and efficiency of knowledge-based products As the demand for high technology goods has increased continuously, the IT industry becomes a highly profitable but competitive industry Severe competition in home countries forces computer firms to expand globally, finding new market for their growth In addition, the pressure of price-competition requires them to find ways to cut cost As a result, large multi-national technology tend to invest in potential markets such as countries in the Asia-Pacific area or India, changing dramatically the investment structure of both home countries and investment receiving countries According to OECD Factbook 2010 regarding to investment structure of the world, ICT shares in total non-residential investment doubled, and in some cases, even quadrupled between 1980 and 2000 In 2008, ICT shares were particularly high (at 24% or more of the total) in countries like the United States, Sweden and Denmark, etc Software has been the fastest growing component of ICT investment In many countries, its share in non-residential investment multiplied several times between 1980 and 2008 In 2008, software's share in total investment was highest in Sweden, the United States, Denmark, Finland and the United Kingdom In the recent years, software accounted for 50% or more of total ICT investment in France, Finland, Sweden, Japan, Korea, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, 10 Switzerland and Netherlands Communication equipment was the major component of ICT investment in Portugal and Greece IT equipment was the major component in Belgium and Ireland Changes in employment structure: In advanced economies, the number of workers in manufacturing sector is drastically reduced by shrinking share of its production But employment in information and knowledge-intensive service sector is increasing with automation and investment in information technology In the occupational categories, there are more demands for experts with creativity and information technology Meanwhile, for developing countries, a large number of people move from the agriculture sector into manufacturing due to the trend of outsourcing of big technology firms in the world Investment in infrastructure of high technology firm in developing countries to take advantage of the cheap manufacturing factors has created jobs for millions of employment in the local areas In a microeconomic sense, information technology changes business activities It is important today that how much information a company have and how much of them could be converted into useful knowledge The global modern economy has proved that knowledge itself, not a physical good, is a valuable product In other words, owning to advanced information technology, knowledge-based workers, who create and utilize information, play a key role in economic activities and knowledge creating organizations like research institutes and universities will find their increased roles as a place for economic activities Changes take place in every part of the business from the communication system to development of goods and technology, procurement, production, sales, distribution, and after sales services Enterprises depend heavily on rapid development of diverse goods and technology in order to satisfy customers Time to market is also getting an important position in today economic environment Modern communication methods such as email or fax have been widely used in companies since they accelerate the whole business process and save a lot of time 63 Figure 8: Number of universities offering ICT training (Source: Guidebook on universities and colleges recruitment - Ministry of Education and Training) Based on these views and objectives, The Strategy identifies six groups of tasks focusing on issues such as: developing ICT human resource; developing ICT Industry; continuing to develop and improve the telecommunications and IT infrastructure; building and deploying suitable supporting solutions for providing digital information to households; applying IT effectively in government agencies, enterprises and the society; strengthening research capacity in the ICT sector; mastering gradually and developing technologies for creating new products The Strategy also stated six solutions: enhancing information dissemination regarding the Strategy; promoting the socialization of investment in ICT, especially in the development of broadband telecommunications infrastructure; providing investment incentives for priority areas; building and improving institutional frameworks; establishing a specific mechanism and renewing policies; promoting international cooperation According to Dr Le Doan Hop, Minister of MIC: “This is intelligence, strength and determination of those who work in the ICT areas, of the Viet Nam young generation, of the political system and people of Viet Nam Implementing The Strategy is one of the central tasks of Viet Nam from now until 2020 The Strategy 64 also represents the aspirations of the Viet Nam youth to change Viet Nam’s position in the international arena in various fields, including information technology” 3.1.2 Leading companies and services providers in IT industry Number of enterprises in software, IT services also increased rapidly, which reached over 1,000 firms in 2010, increased 2.5 times as in 2005, which mainly located in big cities, with over 70,000 labors Average labor productivity on the software and IT services reached 14,800USD/employee/year, but with high ranking businesses, this number may reach over the 20,000USD/employee/year, especially for the firms who provide the integrated services, the number reached over 30,000USD/employee/year Up to now, Viet Nam has many software firms which have more than 1,000 employees such as FPT Information Systems, TMA, PSV, , especially FPT Software has more than 3,500 employees There are two software firms have achieved the CMMi level 5, and dozens of companies certified CMMi level 4, CMMi level or ISO-9001 Currently there are seven IT parks operation in the country, which some quite successful and well known such as Quang Trung Software Park, Da Nang software park, IT Park of the National University in Ho Chi Minh City, etc Many multinational corporations on ICT are planning to expand their investment and operation in Viet Nam, such as Intel, Samsung Electronics, HP, Nokia, etc The local hardware companies also invested modern production lines, and improve the quality management system with international standard, and asserted their positions in the domestic market, such as FPT Elead, CMS, VTB, etc Some Vietnamese mobile brands have dominating a significant share in the domestic market such as Q-Mobile, AVIO-Mobile, Bluefone, etc The areas of chip and electronic board design also achieved significant results Viet Nam now able to design and produce microprocessor 8bit, 16bit, 32bit, typically the 32-bit microprocessor named VN1632 make by The Research and Education Center (ICDREC) of National University in Ho Chi Minh City 65 By 2010, there were over 500 content providers operation in Viet Nam; typically are VTC, VNG, FPT, VASC, VDC, etc This industry employed about 50,900 labors, which 70% direct related to content production and services Most of the labor in the digital content industry are well educated, which about 10% have master degree, 70% have bachelor degree, and 20% have diploma or professional certificate The rate of turnover on employees in the digital content industry in Viet Nam reached 18,300USD/employee/year Figure 9: Market share of Internet providers 2011 (Source: The White book 2011) As can be seen from the above chart, there are three main Internet service providers play on the market: VNPT, FTP Telecom and Viettel Among them, VNPT is the biggest, almost dominant one in this area 3.1.3 Application of the internet in life and economic activities Table 11: the application of the Internet in Vietnam 2009-2010 66 (Source: White Book 2011) The above figure shows a trend of increase in every aspect of Application of the Internet between years 2009 and 2010 This is a clear sign for technology development in Vietnam and the increase in IT-awareness of Vietnamese The IT application in society, community and businesses had positive changes because of the effective implementation of Directive 58 All classes in the society over the country have facilities for ICT application, and Vietnam has become one of the countries which have the highest number of Internet users In Jun 2010, the percentage of households with laptops and computers increased 14.76%, about times higher than in 2002, the percentage of households with Internet access at home reached 12.84% Table 12: Number of PC through 2008 - 2010 67 (Source: General Statistics Office) In the absolute term, the number of PC in-use in Vietnam has increased continuously over years This means the demand for computer of individuals, households, and organizations has an increased trend Besides, the competition and technology changing have reduced the price of computer and computer-based products, giving more chances for Vietnamese people to access to these devices Figure 10: Household with computer per 100 household (Source: General Statistics Office) As stated by IDC on 9th March, 2011, the consumption rate of Vietnam PC market has grow over estimation with more than 2.1 million units 68 This high level is mainly the result of consumption of laptop group in the 4th quarter with 639.000 units, increased 16%, make the total of computer consumed in the year over 2.11 million units, increased 9,8% in comparison with the previous year The laptop group in the 4th quarter, 2011 increased nearly 32% in comparison with the previous quarter and 42.5% increased with the same period the year before On the contrary, the number of desktop decreased 5% and 15% in comparison with the previous quarter and the same period the year before respectively, mainly due to the decrease in demand and decrease in mobile devices that affected the desktop sector Among leading PC providers in Vietnam as of the 4th quarter, 2011, Dell continues to increase and keep the first position with 21% market share Two Taiwan companies are Acer and Asus keep 13% and 10% respectively HP stays at number with 9% but is the number one in desktop sector; Lenovo stays at number position with 6% market share The application of IT in management activities and business transaction has become more and more popular Enterprises have been awared of the importance of IT in administration, management, and market researching and expanding activites Thus, the infrastructure of IT in enterprises has been enhanced significantly Most enterprises have Internet access to serve their business activities (about 90%), 67.7% of enterprises have LANs and the application of software in management has become a focus in enterprises’ business Public services (distant education, remote diagnosis, electronic libraries) have gained remarkable achievements by using ICT High-tech applications have been popular in the operation of many industries such as construction, mechanics, pressing, textiles, petroleum, hydro-meteorology, etc The level of application of IT has changed remarkably through years In 2002, Vietnam had only 525 thousands computer used in economic units In 2007, the whole country had almost 2.02 millions of computers, 3.28 times higher and increased equally both in manufacturing and administrative areas The number of 69 computers with LAN connection for internal transactions has increased 6.5 times and computers with Internet connection increased with a very high rate of 16.13 times The rate of computer using in business units is fairly high, equals 74% 3.2 Lessons from Dell for Vietnamese technology enterprises: From the Dell’s story, there is plenty of knowledge that can benefit Vietnamese technology enterprises Despite the differences in the situation and basis of the companies itself, many lessons withdrawn could be useful and applicable in the dayto-day operation of those companies 3.2.1 Technology focus: First, continual innovation based on standardized products is what truly works at Dell Innovation is incremental and continual – it never stops It is daily Most innovation occurs step by step It is rarely about the big idea Spending on R&D activities is important, but they could learn the Dell’s way to not only save this huge cost, but also still have updated products with the best working efficiency by the means of standards-based innovation By using the standardized components and improve them, push them to the limitation of capacity, make them become even better than the original product of leading innovators In the globalization scenario, Vietnamese technology firms find a lot of difficulties in competing with strong international ones One difficulty is the huge amount of capital invests in R&D laboratories While Vietnamese firm not have a huge investment in comparison with already strong firms in the world, they could find the standard-based innovation as a solution Follow that way could help them keep a lower expense for innovation but still have updated technology This strategy has served Dell well for years, they achieve both: better products with leading technology than others and lower R&D expense; these advantages form the basis for it extremely competitive prices, helping Dell to stay among the top PC provider in the world Second, the technology innovation process should be collaborative Collaboration leads to the best ideas If enterprises could build a way to collect customers’ opinion about what is important or what is of the market demand, they 70 could adapt their products to serve the market most effectively Dell has done this well in many years Remember one of tenets of Dell is “always listen to customers” Direct relationship with customers reflects to it quickly about the current need or new trend in customers’ demand Dell then innovates it technology to that way and serve customers with the best and most appropriate computing solutions It has sold what the market wants instead of based on its own expectation This why people call this way is demand-driven innovation IT personnel and IT system should be an important focus in technology innovation process In order to sustain the direct business model the core business processes would have to be set atop information systems in order to be efficient, effective, and a gain competitive advantage Every aspect of Dell’s operations uses one type of information system or another, from human resources to the customer tracking an order Not only does Dell rely on its information systems 100%, but it would not be a company without them It would be borderline impossible to manually manage the amounts of information handled by its current systems Information systems are the backbone of its business strategy and future The role of information systems played a significant factor in the relative success of Dell It was achieved through the incorporation of information systems at every level within the organization which created more efficient and effective business processes The success of Dell should be almost completely attributed to the use of information systems 3.2.2 Creative strategies: The direct sales model is one of the key factors for the long-term success of Dell It gains a lot thanks to this: not only one of the way to cut off cost of providing products (which means more competitive price than other competitors) but also the best way to keep direct relation with its customers which set up the basis for the low inventory Tailoring their computers to their customers’ specifications and selling the item directly to their customers is what makes Dell’s business model superior Customers are more than willing to support a company that offers them flexibility and convenience No longer is the customer locked into strictly buying their computer 71 from a retailer who can only offer them the “one size fits all” item Going online makes it possible for the customer to get what he or she desires and needs Indeed, Dell’s business model has ignited a spark that is not likely to be extinguished in the near future Vietnamese firms should consider this strategy carefully and apply it in a proper way in running their companies due to the differences in the concept of relationships and middleman in Western and Vietnamese culture If this model could be used appropriately in their operation, it will be a big comparative advantage regarding both the lower price but the practicalness of their products Keeping just-in-time inventory is another strategy that Dell has done really well since the very beginning of its operation This is another strategy that helps it cut a huge amount of expense for storing and maintaining inventory Especially with the hi-tech industry, the value of inventory will decrease substantially from day to day due to quick changes in new technology Computer component costs are steadily decreasing so it is not beneficial for a computer manufacturer to keep volumes of inventory in stock over a long period of time For example, if you buy a Compaq computer from a store, it may have been assembled with components that were in stock for three or more months More than likely the Compaq computer will cost more than a Dell computer because its components were bought at their market price three months ago, whereas a Dell computer will cost less because its components will be bought at their current market price Computer technology has been undergoing significant technological changes Since many computer manufacturers maintain three to four months of inventory, they have to wait three to four months to bring new models to market Manufacturers are also forced to mark down prices to sell older computer models Dell on the other hand, can introduce a new model within a day or two and will not face losses like other computer manufacturers due to obsolescence Disdaining inventory strategy, hence, saves Dell from the risk of losing value due to technology obsolete and, of course, cut cost also Nevertheless, for Vietnamese enterprises, this strategy is both an effective and challenging to apply It is not easy to using this strategy The fact is that even some big firms in the world has tried to imitate this strategy of Dell but failed 72 Keep almost zero inventory means that the operation is always “on the move” and one problem with one sector could affect badly the whole system Another thing is that Dell could it because it has significant power in bargaining with suppliers who bear the risk of keeping the entire inventory and supply it just-in-time CONCLUSION People will become more and more related to the use of the computer and the Internet when jobs in this century more than ever rely on knowledge and information 73 The direct consequence will be the continuous increase in the demand of computer and computer-based products Thus, the PC industry will be expected to be more and more competitive and dynamic in many years to come To be successful in a PC business, a company needs to consider many factors, both internally and externally Among those, a wise choice of what strategy to follow is of essential In decades, the success or failure in choosing an appropriate set of strategies has brought companies to the top of the market or to the end Because the computer industry moves much faster than other industries, enterprises need to keep renewing themselves if they not want to fall behind Outstanding firms are often the ones who have the flexibility and adaptability in their technology focus, product development, and overall business operation For many years, Dell computer has proven itself to be a very competitive computer vendor What should be taken into consideration of Dell success include its wise technology innovation policy, efficient application of the IT system, direct sales model, and inventory management Following technology innovation based on standardization, Dell has always tried to push its products to the limit of capacity and better than that of competitors Besides, the company could reduce cost in every aspect of production as well as selling product with the support of the modern IT system, direct relationship with customers and suppliers, just-in-time inventory These features shape the products of Dell to be competitive both in the quality and in the price For many years around the beginning of this century, Dell stayed the first position regarding the market share in the PC industry, only lose this position after the merger of two other leading companies HP and Compaq Being aware of the importance of Information Technology to the development of the economy and society in this era, Vietnam’s government has set up a pack of official policies and plans to speed up the development of this power Years of implement has observed significant changes in technology power of our country such as the number of computers used in household and business has increased very fast IT labor force has also been taken care of when an increasing number of universities in Vietnam take into their program IT training 74 In the globalization scenario, technology enterprises in Vietnam possess great opportunities to learn from success and failure experience of international firms Moreover, they also could access with the latest technology in the world On the other hand, they are also exposed to the risk of being lag behind if they could not keep pace of the fast changing in technology as well as market demand The competition is also tougher on the market once international firms invest in Vietnam The development of Dell Inc is one source of valuable lessons for Vietnamese technology enterprises to think of Considering every differences about Dell and themselves, they could still learn from the standards-based technology innovation, managing a smooth IT system, direct sales model, cost-cutting References Books and papers 75 Charles W L Hill “International business: competing in the global marketplace” 6th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2007 Jason Dedrick and Kenneth L Kraemer “Globalization of the Personal Computer Industry: Trends and Implications” Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, University of California, 2002 Steven Holzner “HOW DELL DOES IT: Using speed and Innovation to Achieve Extraodinary Results”, McGraw-Hill, 2006 Michael Dell, Catherine Fredman “Direct from Dell: Strategies that revolutionized an Industry”, Collins Business Essentials, 2006 Kenneth Kraemer and Jason Dedrick “Dell Computer: Using E-commerce To Support the Virtual Company” Center for Reserch on Information Technology and Organizations, University of California, Irvine, 2001 William F.Achtmeyer “Dell computer corporation”, Tuck school of business at Dartmouth, 2002 Joan Magretta “The power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Dell Computer’s Michael Dell” Havard Business Review, 1998 Dell Inc., “Dell annual report 2011” Information and communications publishing house “white book 2011” 10 OECD, “OECD Information Technology outlook” 2004 11 European Commission, “Innovation Union Competitiveness report 2011” Websites: Dell Inc link: http://www.dell.com/ OECD statistics library, link: http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx UN Statistics Division, link: http://unstats.un.org/unsd 76 Vietnam’s ministry of Information and Communications, link: http://news.mic.gov.vn Gartner Inc., link: http://www.gartner.com Etforecasts, link: http://www.etforecasts.com ... breakthroughs and technology that sets the technical standards for business users as well as consumers 29 Chapter 2: DELL COMPUTER’S TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2.1 Overview of Dell. .. Michael Dell and his innovative strategies of technology development and operation The following is a brief history of Dell Computer and its development 2.1.1 Introduction to the company: Dell, ... customers, Dell commits $1 billion to develop Dell data and solution centers around the world and open R&D centers in Israel and the U.S 2.2 Dell computer’s technology innovation and development