Work from Anywhere Tech Talk Series
Episode 2: The Intelligent PC
Content sponsored by Intel and Dell Technologies
In the latest Dell Technologies, Work from Anywhere Tech Talk Series, Dell thought leaders share insights into the latest tech trends. The series takes viewers through an informative journey looking at how organisations can take advantage of market conditions to survive and thrive.
Join Jonathan Ryall, client solutions field product manager at Dell Technologies South Africa in the second episode of the “Work from Anywhere Tech Talk Series” as he delves into “The Intelligent PC” with Chris Buchanan, client solutions director, Dell Technologies South Africa. The pair discuss Digital Transformation, Intelligent PC’s, end-point security and how Dell Technologies is ensuring it produces sustainable packaging, printing and products.
There is no doubt that many IT teams have demonstrated that multi-year projects could be accelerated and switched on, like a light switch, in a matter of days. Yes, this was due to massive global upheaval and change, but it showed that nimble organisations were able to transform and survive and those that were unable to, saw slowed business and many even closed.
Chris Buchanan shares some insights gained from the Dell Technologies Index 2020 that surveyed 4300 respondents from 18 countries; allowing for South African organisations to be compared to their global peers. The Index showed that digital transformation is seen as a critical business driver for economic growth, with 79% of organisations in South Africa having fast-tracked some digital transformation programs in 2020 (on par with the 80% reported globally).
Buchanan talks through the Digital Transformation Curve that shows that although there has been no change in Digital Leaders in South Africa (8%), they remain 2 percentage points above the global average of 6%; most notably, there has been a 20-percentage point jump in Digital Adopters in South Africa and 13-percentage point drop in Digital Followers in South Africa. Digital Laggards have dropped down by 2 percentage points in South Africa too.
Due to the changes experienced in 2020, many organisations have had to change the way they work. Ryall and Buchanan discuss how, with the advent of a remote, hybrid workforce, endpoint security and vulnerability must be taken into consideration. With the advent of home offices, essentially many devices which may contain confidential or sensitive data are now operating beyond the office VPN.
Buchanan emphasises the importance of organisations knowing where data is and protecting that data both above and below the Operating System. With cyber-attacks on the rise, Buchanan talks about products that have been added to the Safe Power Solutions as well as the importance of a Safe Supply chain from manufacturer to customer, to prevent any malware being installed on devices.
Finally, Ryall and Buchanan discuss how Dell Technologies is ensuring that their products and packaging are environmentally in line with their 2030 Progress Made Real Goals.
Aptly, this episode has a demonstration from Ryall on packaging, printing and actual PC’s that are increasingly environmentally friendly.