Changing My Call Sign

I recently took my call sign back to Dell Technologies where I spent nearly 15 years of my early career. I’ve had many rewarding stops along the way and the privilege of working alongside some of the smartest and passionate IT folks. This journey allowed me to learn, create, and launch projects that I never knew I was capable of. It allowed me to find my calling as an industry evangelist. And on the personal side of my journey, I also found my voice.

Now back at Dell, I’ve traded my digital transformation evangelism for a role as a “customer centric” advocate as a Cloud Strategist on the Customer Centric Cloud & Containers team.?While one could argue the definition of cloud and what exactly it is, and most know that containers are the most efficient way of deploying an on-going application modernization platform, the highlight in my job change is “Customer” first.?It’s literally in my title.

For me, the customer and their measurement of success is the where the “win” really is. I’ve spent a career learning about technology and how all the pieces can be assembled.?The one thing I have been able to count on was the fact that it all would change.?Change was the consistency in technology that allowed me to learn, and it gave me an opportunity to walk my customers through new opportunities.?I enjoyed that the most, so for the first time, I get to be truly customer first.

Being comfortable with ambiguity

Being on a team that is customer centric – by literal definition of its name – is ridiculously exciting. But what makes what we do unique is the ambiguity around our customer approach. It sounds counter intuitive, but it is actually by design. When we are less driven by our selling points then we can focus more on hearing from our customer about their need, or what they are trying to solve for to help define the need. According to my new leadership, “We really don’t care what they buy.” We want what the customer feels is the best for them.

By being ambiguous on purpose, it leads us to prepare for meeting differently, more thoroughly. It motivates us to learn more about our customers’ businesses so we can be prepared for any number of ways the conversation might go. And it allows us to look at their operation from new perspectives, so we’re welcoming ambiguity to ultimately lead to clarity.

What are we talking about?

As IT continues its path to commoditization, Michael Dell continues his path to moving services, and now hardware, to the cloud. This allows customers to blur the lines on where the hardware actually lives and allows Dell to deliver at lower cost and at scale. Here are some key points:

• Our Customer Centric Cloud & Containers team is made up of senior-level SMEs across multiple disciplines who can consult on aligning IT solutions with business strategy.
• Our industry tenure allows us to have forward thinking, bleeding edge, discussions with foundation in best practices.
• APEX is the OpEx platform that allows industry proven choice, security and allows us to deliver solutions at half the time.

What’s next?

We continue to build. We continue to learn about your business and guide you towards your “IT X.0”. Also, look for me to get back behind the mic to facilitate conversations about the bleeding edge of edge and the next evolution of your business taking advantage of technology.

My new social call signs are @EscoAtDell on Twitter, and EscoAtDell on YouTube. Have a topic suggestion or want to join me in a conversation? Just give me a shout. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon.