Longtime friends and industry titans Michael Dell and Pat Gelsinger chatted this week about Dell Technologies’ massive server launch that included both Intel and AMD-based servers as Dell committed to its long-standing partnership with Intel and its new CEO.
“I know you’re going to do a great job getting Intel revved up again,” said Dell Technologies CEO Dell to Intel’s Gelsinger during an online session touting the server launch. “I’m super excited about all the wonderful things you and your team have shared with us on the road map. It’s just a very exciting time to be in our industry, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the partnership we have with you and with Intel,” Dell said.
Gelsinger had led VMware, which is majority-owned by Dell Technologies and chaired by Michael Dell, for the past eight years. Gelsinger, who held various executive positions at Intel for 30 years before becoming CEO of VMware, said he remembers decades ago when Michael Dell and his company first began partnering with Intel.
“I remember some of the earliest days when you were still a young kid walking in the doors of Intel. I was a young engineer here; now we’re leading this great partnership,” said Gelsinger. “This is really great fun, Michael, to be working in this new capacity with you. … If you think about it, this is a relationship that’s been maturing for decades.”
[Related: Michael Dell: ‘Yes, Remote Working Is Absolutely Here To Stay’]
Dell Technologies has had a tight server and PC integration partnership with Intel for a decade. Dell had traditionally only used Intel processors in its hardware. However, as the processor market has heated up in recent years with competitors like AMD, Dell has shifted to making some products non-Intel-based such as its blockbuster new PowerEdge XE8545 server.
With Gelsinger now leading the charge at Intel, Michael Dell said he has high hopes for Intel’s innovation road map.
“We’re obviously super excited about our new PowerEdge launch. It’s been especially great to have the joint focus with your team, Pat, on security and automation in the development of these new servers. They’re going to be a big part of the customer’s innovation engine in the future,” said Dell. “We’re full speed ahead on the amazing partnership that we have with Intel. [We’re] innovating as the essential infrastructure company for the data era to be the most trusted partner to accelerate our customers’ digital transformation.”
Gelsinger was bullish about leading Intel into the future as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates digital transformation. He said organizations across the globe will benefit from Dell and Intel working together to drive joint innovation.
“It really is, ‘How do we do what we do in the core platforms, the silicon and the low-level software, combine that with Dell and the system innovations, and the customer distribution—those have to come together to deliver something the customer can use at scale,” said Gelsinger. “That really is what has happened as a result of this partnership—we’re enabling customers at scale with reliable, secure and world-class performance capabilities.”
Gelsinger ended the session by doubling down on his company’s tight relationship with Dell heading into the future.
“It really is a thrill to know it’s not just what we’re doing today, but the commitment to keep on doing that for many, many years to come,” said Gelsinger.
VMware is currently searching for a new CEO. In terms of Dell’s technology and go-to-market partnership with VMware, Michael Dell told CRN his company plans to continue its tight relationship even with Gelsinger no longer at the helm. “[The partnership] continues to grow and get stronger,” Dell said.
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