By Doug Woolley, Dell EMC GM: South Africa

“You are some of the world’s greatest organisations and you are leading through a time of unprecedented change and opportunity. This is your show. It’s about how you are changing the world: reshaping industries, reinventing processes, transforming your organisations to shape your future.”

With those words, Michael Dell started his keynote at DellEMC World, held in Las Vegas. This year more than 13 500 people attended the event, ready to learn how they can take their transformations forward.

To me it served as a reminder of what we can do and what is at stake. Later, back in South Africa, I spoke to renowned analyst Arthur Goldstuck, who also attended DellEMC World 2017. He said something very true and crucial: there are no more excuses. The future is being built on digital transformation. The tools and platforms are out there. What remains is for companies and countries to grab the bull by the horns and make the change.

I completely agree with him. But it is easier said than done. Many still struggle to start and maintain the journey to this new era. That’s because it is a fundamental challenge. Digital transformation is not a bolt-on to a business. It starts at the foundation and works its way through the entire organisation. It is both top-down and grassroots. It is corporate, functional and operational. The business vision remains intact, but everything about how it will realise that vision changes. This is a daunting shift.

That problem stayed with me long after the event. Dell Technologies, which emerged from the highly successful combination between Dell and EMC, is an undeniable leader in this transformation. The high utilisation of our services and solutions prove that. But this brings a certain responsibility as well: if we expect the world to change, we must help lead and define that change. Our customers - current and future - look to us for guidance. What I have to ask is how can DellEMC be a partner for South Africa’s digital transformation?

IT maturity is key. You can’t simply flip a switch and digital magic appears. But it shouldn’t be as complicated and daunting as it appears either. The primary outcome is to get businesses away from the burden of technology procurement and maintenance, and back to what they do best. In the Dell EMC hallways we call this Radical Infrastructure Simplicity. Through a variety of products, we are equipped to create the digital foundations businesses can build on.

An often-cited example is our Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, which deliver turnkey systems ready for digital services to be deployed on them with the littlest of fuss. But we need to go further, which is why DellEMC has introduced elastic financing models such as Financial Services Flex. We don’t want upfront costs to drain your digital ambition, so we have designed industry-first financing solutions that cater for every type and size of business.

Another example, announced at the Las Vegas gathering, is PC-as-a-Service. This unique offering takes advantage of DellEMC’s leading consumer devices to equip staff with top computer systems without the hefty capital layout. Let’s be honest: change is not cheap and this is keeping many companies, particularly smaller businesses, from transforming. Both of the aforementioned services are here to take that pain away.

It is obvious that I want to promote what Dell EMC offers the market. But this is not my primary goal. That question of how we can help accelerate digital transformation in South Africa remains the brass ring. I am just fortunate to lead the local office of a very dynamic and progressive company.

DellEMC has a vast ecosystem, and is rich for its extensive investments in consultation, methodology research and toolsets. We were early evangelists for cloud and pioneers of cloud management and infrastructure. Today that expertise spans across seven major companies, modernising data centres, improving security, driving virtualization and much more. Whether you need a turnkey upgrade of your servers, develop your Internet of Things strategy or place the best devices in the hands of employees, we’ve thought about the challenges and created solutions for you to consider.

This commitment goes beyond product. One of the most exciting announcements I saw at DellEMC World 2017, beyond the virtual reality sets and mind-blowing gaming systems, was that of Alice: a virtual assistant that specifically serves women entrepreneurs.  The event also made it clear that Dell EMC is very concerned about the environment and sustainability is a guiding principle of our organisation.

Arthur Goldstuck was right: there are no excuses. But to me, there are no excuses for us, DellEMC, to help you change your business and your world for the better. This is the commitment I reaffirmed after DellEMC World 2017: we all really can change the world and DellEMC will be there to help every step of the way.