Dell tries SME market for size with 'Vostro'

Once the runaway leader among PC giants, Dell is now trying to regain its market status from current frontrunner Hewlett Packard by also immersing itself in the highly crowded market of small businesses.

In attempting this market, Dell carries with it a line of sub-brand of notebooks called Vostro. It’s actually a Latin word for “yours” and small businesses can make it their very own if money weren’t an issue.

To Dell’s credit, it has just launched two new pre-configured Vostro laptops that are supposed to be affordable and offer an inexpensive opportunity for small businesses to transition from using desktops to laptops.

The Dell Vostro A860 is a 15.6-inch laptop that offers a choice of various Intel processors from Celeron to Core2 Duo and the choice of Ubuntu Linux or Microsoft Genuine Windows Vista operating system.

The Vostro A860 also offers an integrated network, modem and wireless connectivity with optional Bluetooth capabilities.

The Dell Vostro A840 is a 14.1-inch version of the A860 model that offers the same practical technology for mobile business computing.

The pre-configured Vostro laptops and desktops will be available mainly through a Dell local solution provider, distributor or retailer.

While all products are available through Dell channel partners, this is the first time a Dell product will be available primarily through Dell channel partners in emerging countries.

Barry Bunyi, director and country manager for Dell Philippines, said Dell customers have long associated the Dell brand with reliability and quality and build-to-order, one of the hallmarks of Dell’s success.

He added that additional Vostro products designed for small businesses in the country will be introduced in the coming months.  

Dell’s more vigorous foray into the SME market today and the development of the Vostro line are the results of market feedbacks that Dell and its channel partners have gathered overtime by talking to small businesses, particularly from emerging countries.

These discussions revealed that affordability, reliability, quality, ease of use, support and service plus maintenance weigh heavily on small businesses’ IT buying decisions.

Hopefully, the Vostro notebooks, Dell’s first step to address this least served segment of the corporate market, can satisfy all the SMEs’ requirements.

After all, Dell has a market crown to regain and one way that could happen is if Dell’s “Vostro” truly become “yours.”