Tag Archive for Dell

| January 30, 2024
Comments Off on PC Sales Post First Quarterly Gain In Two Years

PC Sales Post First Quarterly Gain In Two Years

PC Sales Post First Quarterly Gain In Two YearsPC sales increased for the first time in two years. Gartner is reporting that global PC shipments for the fourth quarter of 2023 totaled 63.3 million units in. This is a 0.3% increase from the fourth quarter of 2022. However, 2023 was the worst year in PC history. PC shipments declined 14.8% in 2023. Gartner notes this is the second year with a double-digit decline. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 241.8 million units in 2023, down from 284 million in 2022.

Company2023 Shipments2023 Market Share (%)2022 Shipments2022 Market Share (%)2023-2022 Growth (%)
Lenovo59,725.024.7%69,047.024.3%-13.5%
HP Inc.52,896.021.9%55,366.019.5%-4.5%
Dell40,238.016.6%50,008.017.6%-19.5%
Apple21,877.09.0%26,825.09.4%-18.4%
Asus17,061.07.1%20,651.07.3%-17.4%
Acer15,887.06.6%18,708.06.6%-15.1%
Others34,206.014.1%43,448.015.3%-21.3%
Total241,891.00284,052.00-14.8%
Source: Gartner (January 2024)

PC shipments for all of 202 3fell 14.8% decrease from 2022.Globally, PC shipments for all of 2023 totaled 241.8 million units, a 14.8% decrease from 2022. This marks the first time that shipment volume has dipped below 250 million since 2006, when 230 million units were shipped according to Gartner.

All the vendors shipped fewer units in 2023. According to the Gartner data date, Dell (DELL) (-19.5%) and Apple (AAPL) (-18.4%) saw the largest decreases. Mikako Kitagawa, Director Analyst at Gartner said, “…  all top six vendors maintained their position without notable share gains or losses … Gartner projects that the PC market will return to annual growth in 2024.”

U.S. PC sales

U.S. PC market increased 1.8%The U.S. PC market recorded its first year-over-year growth since the second quarter of 2021. U.S. PC sales increased 1.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023. HP (HPQ) maintained the top spot in the U.S. PC market share of 27.7%. Dell came in second with 22.6% of U.S. PC market share, despite a 5% decrease for last year. ASUS (2357) lost a spectacular 23.2% of their U.S. Market Share in 23Q4. Kitagawa commented, “The solid U.S. economy helped small and midsize business spending as the segment grew steadily. Large companies were still cautious about spending, postponing PC refreshes to 2024.”

U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q23 (Thousands of Units)
Company4Q23 Shipments4Q23 Market Share (%)4Q23-4Q22 Growth (%)
HP Inc.4,66527.70%1.80%
Dell3,80522.60%-5.0%
Apple2,71616.10%14.50%
Lenovo2,65015.70%10.60%
Acer8264.90%13.20%
ASUS7334.40%-23.10%
Others1,4358.50%-12.00%
Total16,8311001.80%
Source: Gartner (January 2024)

Global PC Sales

Globally, year-over-year PC shipments were mixed.Globally, year-over-year PC shipments were mixed. The winner was Acer (TPE:2353) with an increase of 11.1% for the year. Apple, (7.2%) best, followed by HP (5.6%) and Lenovo (LNVGY) (3.2%)  were the winners for 2023.

ASUS was the big loser in 2023, with a -9.4% decrease year-over-year in PC shipments. Dell dropped -8.3% over 2023.

Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 4Q23 (Thousands of Units)
Company4Q23 Shipments4Q23 Market Share (%)4Q23-4Q22 (%) Growth
Lenovo16,21325.60%3.2%
HP Inc.13,95422.00%5.6%
Dell9,98315.80%-8.3%
Apple6,34910.00%7.2%
ASUS4,4057.00%-9.4%
Acer3,9876.30%11.1%
Others8,47913.40%15.3%
Total63,371
Source: Gartner (January 2024)


Gartner notes that Lenovo marked its first year-over-year growth in worldwide PC shipments since the third quarter of 2021. HP Inc. had its second consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth and sequential growth in worldwide PC shipments. Meanwhile, Dell registered its seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year shipment decline.

rb-

PC sales should pick up as many firms upgrade to Windows 11 ahead of the looming Windows 10 EOL. The scheduled end of support date for Window 10 is October 2025

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
| April 17, 2021
Comments Off on VMware Spinoff

VMware Spinoff

VMware SpinoffThe rumor mill got it right again. On Wednesday 04/15/2021 Dell Technologies confirmed the long speculated plans to spinoff VMware. The VMware spinoff will create two standalone public companies. Dell will continue to trade on the NYSE as DELL and VMware will trade as VMW.

Cash dividend of up to $12 billionThe deal includes a VMware cash dividend of up to $12 billion to all VMware shareholders, including Dell Technologies. Dell owns an 81% stake in VMware. Dell took over VMware when it acquired EMC in September 2016 for $58B. The VMware spin-off could yield Dell up to $9.7 billion to pay down its long-term debt of $41.62 billion. Dell shareholders would receive 0.44 shares of VMware for each Dell share that they hold as of 04/14/2021.

VMware spinoff

TechCrunch observes that the VMware spinoff will not be a clean break. The companies will continue to work closely together at least for another five years. VMware plans to sell its products through the Dell sales team. Dell Financial Services will continue to finance VMware deals. Finally, there is a formalized governance process in place related to achieving the commercial goals under the agreement.

VMware spinoff will not be a clean breakThe VMware spinoff is expected to close during the fourth quarter of calendar 2021, pending a favorable IRS ruling. TechCrunch says  That includes getting a favorable ruling from the IRS that the deal qualifies for a tax-free spin-off, would be a considerable hurdle for the deal.

VMware spinoff changes at the top

Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell will continue to lead the PC giant. He will also remain chairman of VMware’s board.Mr. Dell said in CEO-speak;

Dell logoBy spinning off VMware, we expect to drive additional growth … and unlock significant value for stakeholders. Both companies will remain important partners … differentiated advantage in how we bring solutions to customers … embrace new opportunities through an open ecosystem …

Zane Rowe will remain interim CEO of VMware, as the virtualization company continues to evaluate permanent CEO options to succeed Pat Gelsinger — who left the virtualization juggernaut for Chipzilla earlier this year.

Zane Rowe interim CEO of VMwareMr. Rowe told Reuters the spinoff could also allow VMware to strike more partnerships with major cloud computing providers. “This will clearly give us a lot of flexibility strategically to do more partnerships.”  The VMware spinoff will allow the independent firm to pursue deals with Amazon and Microsoft, which are Dell’s primary technology competitors.

Dell financial maneuvers

Founded in 1984, Dell initially went public in 1988. Through a record-breaking leveraged buyout Dell returned to private ownership under Michael Dell in 2013. After buying EMC in 2016, Dell again undertook a complex financial move to become public again to help the company raise funds.

VMware

VMware logoVMware was founded in 1998 and acquired by EMC in 2004. EMC sold part of its stake in an initial public offering in 2007. EMC’s holdings in VMware passed to Dell when it acquired EMC in 2016 in the largest successful acquisition in the technology industry.

rb-

In another effort to slim down the company, Dell is exploring options to selling its Boomi cloud business for $3 billion. Dell Technologies sold Boomi for about $4 billion. The proceeds should help Dell reduce its debt. The data integration company is being purchased by the investment firm Francisco Partners along with the private equity firm TPG Capital. The sale is expected to close by the end of 2021.

Boomi provides a cloud-based integration platform as a service (iPaaS) for more than 15,000 customers. Dell acquired Boomi in 2010.

Stay safe out there!

Related article

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| September 3, 2020
Comments Off on Dell to Spin off VMWare?

Dell to Spin off VMWare?

Layoffs are coming to DellUpdated 09/16/2020 – Layoffs are coming to Dell Technologies. Bloomberg reports that during it’s last quarterly all-staff meeting, Dell workers were told that company-wide workforce reductions were coming. A Dell spokesperson announced,  “… we’re addressing our cost structure to make sure we’re as competitive as we should be now and for future opportunities … we’re doing what’s best for the long-term health of our company and our team.”

Dell has already taken a number of people cost-cutting measures. It has suspended 401(k) matching, bonuses, and promotions for the fiscal year. The firm had previously announced that 60% of its workforce will WFH or be in the office one or two days a week. Dell will provide a one-time stipend of $400 for home-office equipment.

However, over at VMware, which is 81% owned by Dell, there is a different pain. VMware has told its employees they can move away from Silicon Valley and work remotely on a permanent basis. However, VMware may cut their pay should they chose to move to a less expensive location. Employees who move could face salary cuts of 8% -18% Bloomberg reported.  A VMware spokesperson emailed SDXcentral,

…VMware is building a dynamic, global workforce of the future where our people have choice and flexibility to work from any location … VMware is dedicated to equitable pay for its workforce, not by only race and gender, but also work location or geography.

—

Dell to Spin off VMWare?

The rumor mill is grinding on Dell and VMware again. Back in June 2020, the WSJ reported that Round Rock, TX-based Dell Technologies (DELL) was exploring the idea of spinning off its $50 Billion – 81% ownership stake in VMware (VMW). But the dust settled on that speculation until recently

VMware logoDuring the 08/27/2020 Q2 earnings call, VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger said his company was in discussions with parent-owner Dell about a possible spin-off. According to a Seeking Alpha transcript, CEO Gelsinger said,

I want to acknowledge the recent Dell Technologies 13D filing about their considerations of a potential VMware spin-off … our Board has formed a special committee … and we are in discussions with Dell.

Potential spin-off

Dell logoCEO Gelsinger sought to assure current VMware customers. “We have over a year to go as any potential spin-off would not occur prior to September 2021.” The potential spin-off would be designed to “unlock the full value of Dell’s hardware business and VMware’s software business.” As of 09/01/2020, VMware’s market cap ($59.2B) overshadows Dell’s ($49.17B) market cap.

In June 2020 statement Dell said:

Dell Technologies believes a spin-off could benefit both Dell Technologies and VMware shareholders, team members, customers and partners by simplifying capital structures and creating additional long-term enterprise value. …  Any potential spin-off would …  be intended to qualify as tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

VMware Solid second-quarter results

COVID-19Fierce Telecom reports that VMware posted solid second-quarter results in the face of headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic. On-premise revenues were down to the pandemic. However, VMware’s subscription and software-as-a-service (SaaS) revenue was up 44% from a year ago. SaaS revenue was $631 million and accounted for 22% of its total revenue in Q2.

VMware reported second-quarter earnings of $447 million, or $1.06 per share, on revenue of $2.88 billion. The results were an increase of 9% year over year from $2.63 billion. VMware CEO Gelsinger commented, “I do think, as we’ve indicated, that COVID has been a bit of a headwind for on-premise, growth … particularly in the Americas.”

Looking forward, Mr. Gelsinger foresees uncertainties into 2021 due to COVID-19.

We do think that the environment remains a pretty uncertain. … we expect Q3 to still be challenging with recovery in Q4 and Q1 and into next year … we still think that (there are) several quarters of recovery until we’re back to a more normal economic environment.

rb-

The deal makes sense for the big-wigs. Big-wigs that will profit from the venture include Dell CEO Michael Dell and his venture capital backers. PE firm Silver Lake owns about 100 million shares of Dell, worth over $5 billion. CRN suggests that the deal could shift Dell’s $48 billion in long-term debt elsewhere, potentially to VMware.

What are the risks to VMware’s enterprise customers? CEO Dell claims he expects to formalize agreements between the step-children. The agreements would allow “ongoing strategic benefits and continued support for customers of both companies following any spin-off.” 

The firms have tightly integrated Dell hardware with VMware software. In the face of a COVID-19 recession well into 2021 enterprise customers are going to be pretty risk-averse. Customers are going to have to take whatever price increases VMware imposes to cover the new debt.

There are lots of people available with strong VMware skill-sets. Moving a firm’s infrastructure off VMware to a private or hybrid cloud environment as a managed service would require different IT operating models and skill sets that would probably cost a lot to set up and support. 

Stay safe out there!

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| February 18, 2020
Comments Off on RSA Sold

RSA Sold

RSA SoldThe rumor mill was again right. During the holidays I wrote about Dell Technologies selling its RSA cybersecurity business. The encryption pioneer is being purchased by private equity firm Symphony Technology Group Partners (STG). The STG consortium includes the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and AlpInvest Partners.

private equity firmSTG is based in Palo Alto, CA, and was founded in 2002. According to its website, the VC firm focuses on data, software, and analytics. STG entered the cybersecurity arena in April 2019 when they bought RedSeal, a cyber risk modeling firm in a $70M deal.

RSA Sold for $2B

The deal is expected to close in the next six to nine months. Financial terms were not disclosed, but multiple sources peg the all-cash deal at $2.08 billion.

In a prepared statement about the deal, William Chisholm, managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, said:

We are excited and fully committed to maximizing the power of RSA’s talent, expertise, and tremendous growth potential and continuing RSA’s strategy to serve customers with a holistic approach to managing their digital risk.

Rohit Ghai, president of RSA wrote:

Symphony Technology Group … independent configuration, we expect to be in an even better position to accelerate innovation, ensure customer success with our portfolio…

Dell Technology’s chief operating officer and vice chairman Jeff Clarke wrote in the post announcing the deal:

The strategies of RSA and Dell Technologies have evolved … different go-to-market models. The sale of RSA gives us greater flexibility to focus on integrated innovation across Dell Technologies.

rb-

CRN notes that the purchase price for the STG deal is nearly identical to the $2.1B EMC paid to buy RSA back in 2006. RSA then moved to Dell Technologies in 2016 when Dell purchased EMC for $60B. But why did Dell sell RSA?

  • Dell seems to be sinking a lot of money into Secureworks.
  • 2 billion dollarsDell’s VMware just bought CarbonBlack, why not RSA?
  • RSA was founded “way back in 1982.” And being a “legacy security firm” RAS may be seen at VMware as being part of VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger’s “Security is broken” talking point. Can companies face age discrimination too?
  • Maybe Dell just needs the cash.

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,
| February 6, 2020
Comments Off on VMware Had a Bad Week

VMware Had a Bad Week

VMware Had a Bad WeekVMware (VMW) had a bad week last week. First, a  jury in the U.S. federal district court for the District of Delaware ruled that the virtualization giant infringed on two patents owned by Densify. Densify is a Toronto-based startup that makes cloud and container resource management software. The ruling will cost VMware about $237 million dollars. Of course, VMware will appeal.

VMware logoIn an emailed statement, to sdxcentral VMware wrote, “VMware intend[s] to vigorously pursue all legal remedies that are available to us to prove that we are not liable here.”

Next, it was announced that over 200 VMware employees will lose their jobs as part of a “workforce rebalancing.” TargetTech noted that IBM has historically used the same term to describe its periodic layoffs.

In addition to workers losing their jobs, the VMware executive suite has undergone purging too. Reports are that

  • VMware Executative layoffsChief Customer Officer Scott Bajtos, an 11-year VMware veteran who oversaw VMware’s global services team which includes customer success, technical support, professional services support, and customer advocacy.
  • Mark Ritacco, VP of operations and customer intelligence, after almost 11 years,
  • Kate Woodcock, VP of customer advocacy, after almost eight years.
  • Scott Bajtos – global chief customer officer, is leaving after 11 years.
  • Alexa Erjavic, senior director of global services strategy.

VMware acquisitions

Could it be buyer’s regret? Not even cutting a handful of executive salaries can cover the billions VMware has spent on acquisitions over the past 2 years.

In 2018 VMware bought:

  • billions VMware has spent on acquisitionsE8 Security for machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for cybersecurity intelligence and analytics.
  • CloudCoreo to manage cloud configurations and identify risks when deploying public clouds to prevent breaches and compliance violations.
  • EMC Service Assurance Suite for monitoring telco network health, performance, and root cause analysis.
  • CloudHeath for multi-cloud management platform across Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for $500 million.
  • Heptio VMware plans to use Heptio assets to enhance Kubernetes life-cycle management $550 million.

In 2019 VMware bought:

  • VMwareacquisitions over the past 2 yearsAetherPal for remote IT support software to remotely view, control, troubleshoot, and fix devices and applications.
  • BitFusion to support Artificial Intelligence and machine learning-based workloads on graphics processor units (GPUs) (no acquisition price announced).
  • Uhana for 5G mobile network optimization.
  • Intrinsic for secure serverless functions on AWS, Azure, and GCP.
  • Bitnami brings simplified app development with a curated marketplace for VMware customers.
  • Veriflow for network monitoring software for multi-cloud management.
  • Avi Networks for multi-cloud application delivery to enhance performance, resource utilization, automation, and scalability.
  • Pivotal for multi-cloud application software strategy across AWS, Azure & GCP for $2.7 billion. and;
  • Carbon Black to provide an enterprise-grade security platform to protect workloads, applications and networks from device to cloud for $2.1 billion.

Already in 2020 VMware bought:

  • Nyansa to provide network traffic analytics that covers the SD-WAN and the wired and wireless LAN.

rb-

While the hyper-scale cloud vendors AWS, Azure, GCP, and the Chinese giants battling it out for cloud supremacy. Most enterprises have adopted a multi-cloud strategy. VMware is in the incumbent position as it competes with IBM, maybe Cisco, and HPE to be the glue that binds private and public clouds as well as owned data centers into an enterprise multi-cloud strategy. This is a long-term play.

In the near term – all of the acquisitions since 2018, VMware does not have a lot to show for it financially. VWM has been basically flat. VMW spiked to $150.00 in January 2018, hit a peak of $203.64 in, 2019 and has settled back to $157.50 in February 2020.

Related article

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries