Michael Dell On Biggest 2026 Investments In Storage, AI And Partners

“In 2026, we’re investing in technologies that move our customers forward, starting with expanding AI capabilities at every layer—including next-generation PCs, scalable, secure compute, and storage,” said Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell.

Dell’s longtime leader Michael Dell will invest heavily in storage, the Dell AI Factory and AI-enabled PCs this year as the $108 billion tech giant continues to break revenue records.

“In 2026, we’re investing in technologies that move our customers forward, starting with expanding AI capabilities at every layer—including next-generation PCs, scalable, secure compute and storage,” said Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, as part of CRN’s 2026 CEO Outlook project.

“We’re expanding our Dell AI Factory to support real-time data processing and more automated operations,” Dell said.

“We are also heavily investing in our storage portfolio to ensure it delivers the high-performance scalability and security required for modern AI workloads,” he added.

Dell’s $27 Billion Revenue; Top Priority In 2026

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Technologies, which recently made CRN’s 20 Coolest Cloud Infrastructure Companies Of 2026 list, generated record revenue of $27 billion during its fiscal 2026 third quarter.

Dell’s $27 billion in sales represented an increase of 11 percent year over year. Dell’s Infrastructure Solutions Group captured $14.1 billion, up 24 percent year over year, while Dell’s Client Solutions Group generated $12.5 billion, up 3 percent year over year.

Dell expects AI server shipments of roughly $25 billion for its entire fiscal year 2026, which would represent an increase of more than 150 percent year over year.

As part of CRN’s CEO Outlook project, Michael Dell explains his company’s biggest investments areas, the impact of AI on Dell this year, and what channel partners should be focused on in 2026.

“My top priority [in 2026] is enabling our partners and customers to win in the AI era,” Dell said.

Here’s what every Dell partner, customer and investor needs to know about Dell Technologies strategy for 2026.

What are the key technology investments you plan to make in 2026?

In 2026, we’re investing in technologies that move our customers forward, starting with expanding AI capabilities at every layer, including next-generation PCs, scalable, secure compute and storage.

We’re expanding our Dell AI Factory to support real-time data processing and more automated operations.

We are also heavily investing in our storage portfolio to ensure it delivers the high-performance scalability and security required for modern AI workloads.

Our focus is on solutions that simplify complexity and deliver measurable outcomes for our customers and partners. Our teams are executing, and we’re ready to tackle the opportunities ahead.

What is the key to success for your channel partners in 2026?

Embracing the AI opportunity will be key to partner success in 2026.

Partners who champion modernization, accelerate AI adoption and foster customer confidence will set themselves apart. This means leveraging the AI opportunity to also modernize core data centers with modern storage and new generation servers.

Our role is to equip partners with the AI solutions, tools and support to solve real-world customer problems and create new avenues for growth.

What impact do you expect AI to have on the business you and your partners do together in 2026?

AI is fundamentally transforming how organizations operate and create value.

For Dell and our partners, it’s not just about providing technology. It’s also about empowering customers to make smarter decisions, streamline operations, and spark innovation at scale.

By leveraging our end-to-end AI infrastructure, including our modern storage solutions that turn data into a competitive advantage, our partners help customers adapt to change, seize emerging opportunities and shape new standards of productivity across industries.

What do you see as the toughest challenges facing customers in 2026?

Customers face tremendous pressure to quickly translate AI potential into measurable impact, navigating complexity, scaling infrastructure, and ensuring security in a rapidly changing landscape.

It’s about delivering business value faster, with confidence. That’s where we and our partners excel.

We help them overcome managing explosive data growth with robust, scalable storage solutions designed to help keep their data more secure and accessible.

By streamlining and automating processes, removing barriers to innovation and providing trusted expertise, we are empowering customers to focus on outcomes—not obstacles.

Fill in the blank: My top priority for 2026 is:

My top priority is enabling our partners and customers to win in the AI era.

My focus is on ensuring they have access to the world’s broadest AI portfolio, from client to cloud, so they can build their AI Factories and turn data into intelligence.

We are empowering our partners to lead this transformation by helping them modernize customer infrastructure with the compute and storage capacity and performance reliability needed for the AI workloads of today and tomorrow.

Our partners are essential to our mission, and their success is the ultimate measure of our own.

What is your biggest market opportunity you and Dell channel partners will tackle in 2026?

The biggest opportunity ahead is empowering our customers to realize the full value of AI.

Dell and our partners are uniquely positioned at this pivotal moment, combining cutting-edge solutions with strategic collaboration across the ecosystem.

Together, we’re delivering the modern infrastructure AI workloads demand—from the PC to the data center to the cloud—including our industry-leading storage solutions that act as the critical backbone for managing massive AI datasets. The technology we’re building today will power tomorrow’s breakthroughs.

By driving innovation side-by-side with our partners, we’re creating lasting impact and building a foundation for decades of progress.