Dell plans to act more aggressive

The American Executive Marius Haas is accustomed to an intense schedule of trips around the world to talk to Dell customers, company in which commands the overall sales of products for businesses. In the next few weeks, however, the calendar will be more intense.
After the manufacturer's shareholders have accepted the proposal of its founder and Chief Executive, Michael Dell, to close its capital, is about to begin a new phase for the company. The idea is to be more aggressive growth plans, taking advantage of the fact that you do not need to report on their performance to investors and analysts every three months.
Before that can happen, however, it is necessary to inform customers about the changes and the company's goals in this new stage. And that's where the travel calendar of Haas can get complicated. "Some customers do not yet know our proposal. Let's invest in coverage to ensure that people understand where we're going, "said Haas from the value during visit to Brazil to talk to customers.
The changes for which Dell is going through are similar to IBM's repositioning between the end of 90 years and the early 2000 and the Hewlett-Packard (HP) in the second half of the year 2000. The idea is to evolve the model of computer manufacturer to a company focused on the sale of products and the provision of technology services to other companies. The rationale for this process is the search for profitability. The estimate is that some products sold to companies offering a final result up to four times higher than that of PCs.
But turn the ship isn't easy and much less cheap. In the last six years, Dell bought nearly 30 companies to increase their offers and your recipe. Most of the agreements cost less than $ 1 billion. So Michael Dell decided that the delisting would be the best alternative for the company right now. The proposal was made in February by the value of almost $ 25 billion. In addition, the Executive itself had bid as funders the investment fund Silver Lake Partners and the Microsoft.
And it was not easy to put the plan into practice. Shortly after the announcement of the offer, the financier Carl Icahn tried to cross the business with a competitor. The analysis of the proposals dragged for months until a decision was made in mid-September. The expectation is that the delisting process is completed until November. For Haas, the term is appropriate, because it coincides with the time that Dell will make planning your business for 2014 (equivalent to the company's 2015 fiscal year, which begins in February.
The new phase of Dell also begins in a still difficult economic scenario. Europe does not give consistent signs of recovery and the resumption of the United States are in the standby compass in expectation of a decision on raising the Government's debt ceiling. Even the emerging countries, which had been sustaining world growth in recent years, have grown more slowly.
For Haas, the panorama is really complex, but Dell positioning allows the company advances even with adversity. "Unlike competitors, who have to defend traditional business, we are entering the most markets now, so we have plenty of room to win with offerings that are differentiated and innovative," he said.
The Executive cites as an example a line of products targeted at customers in emerging markets, launched in August in China. Developing countries such as China and Brazil are among the main targets of manufacturer. Three months ago, the company appointed the President of operations in Brazil, Raymundo Peixoto, to lead sales for companies in Latin America. The command of business in Brazil is temporarily in charge of Luis Gonçalves.
In terms of technologies, Dell plans to focus on four main areas: security, data analysis systems, and connectivity products that help companies to modernize its technology infrastructure more simply and cheaply.
According to Haas, during the comings and goings of the delisting process, Michael Dell remained away from the day to day company. Operational decisions were of an operational Committee formed by six senior executives of the manufacturer. "Dell always gave a support when necessary, but I had to get away from everyday life for his direct involvement in the proposed delisting," he said. According to Haas, one of the most important things during this period was to keep customers informed about what was going on and the next steps. And it continues between the priorities. "The good news is that this is all in the past now," said Haas.