Dell To Roll Out IT Services For Small Businesses

The new suite of services, which is the first of a multiphase rollout, will kick off in 2003, with Dell providing SMB customers with services and support for software and peripheral products from a variety of vendors.

CEO Michael Dell has made reference in recent months to his goal of offering "semi-customized" services that can be sold to Dell customers directly by Dell.

The new services focus on network design, including helping the customer make hardware, software and networking choices, and installation for all of Dell's desktop computers, notebooks, workstations, switches, servers, storage, software and peripherals.

Dell also will sell a third service called Business Professional Training in which, for $99 a year, clients will have access to online courses for hundreds of applications.

Frank Muehleman, senior vice president and general manager of Dell's SMB division, is in charge of bringing the new services to market.

Earlier this year, Muehleman was put in charge of Dell's new white-box PC program for reseller partners, which met with mixed reaction from solution providers.