4. Dell Transformed Itself In 2021

Less than three years ago, Dell Technologies was made up of eight businesses under the Dell Technologies umbrella following its historic acquisition of EMC and VMware.

As of 2022, Dell has since sold Integration Platform as-a-Service (IPaas) specialist Boomi, DevOps application star Pivotal Software, and cybersecurity standout RSA for billions of dollars each, while also spinning off its majority stake in VMware in November. Dell Technologies now consists of its roaring PC business Dell, leading storage and server infrastructure company Dell EMC, SecureWorks for cybersecurity, and Virtustream for cloud software and services.

With the global COVID-19 pandemic driving Dell PC sales to new heights while at the same time driving companies’ digital transformation plans at lightning speed, CEO Michael Dell is – yet again – transforming his company. As a major part of Dell’s transformation, the company has also launched Apex, the company’s new as-a-service portfolio, with plans to make Dell’s entire product portfolio available as-a-service in the future.

With Dell selling the trio of businesses and the VMware spin-off generating billions for the company, Dell’s massive amount of debt stemming from its historic $67 billion acquisition of EMC and VMware is dropping rapidly, which could allow the company to potentially go after a big acquisition to boost either its thriving PC business or its Apex as-a-service push in 2022.

This year could set up the shape and vision for what Dell will look like over the next decade.