Dell, EMC and the Unifying Theory of the Universe

For those of you who haven’t noticed, it’s been a busy couple of weeks at Dell. On October 12th, we announced a definitive agreement to acquire EMC, including a controlling interest in VMware. It’s incredible for me. I started this company 32 years ago, building PCs in my dorm room, and as I write this post, Dell is set to become an enterprise solutions powerhouse.

One week later we hosted about 5,000 customers and partners in Austin for our 5th annual Dell World. The timing couldn’t have been better, because it gave us a chance to showcase our thinking about the future to our most important audience. I opened with a keynote humbly entitled the Unifying Theory of the Universe 1.0. In it I begin to paint a picture of the future, and the astonishing role that our combined company can play in helping customers achieve their dreams.

Dell and EMC are a highly complementary combination. We bring together the world’s greatest franchises in the technology of today; leaders in Servers, Storage, Virtualization and PCs. And we bring together the industry’s leading technology of tomorrow; digital transformation, software-defined data center, converged infrastructure, hybrid cloud, mobile and security. Combined, we become a company with a leadership position in 22 Gartner Magic Quadrants. No one is more relevant or able to add more value.

We can deliver this unprecedented portfolio to the broadest possible global customer base. EMC has an unmatched reputation with large enterprises. At Dell we have unmatched strength in the mid-market and with small businesses. Together, we can fuel innovation across our combined portfolio and across customer segments.

Finally, we are bringing together an unbelievable set of capabilities. EMC is the best company in the industry at incubating new technologies, and that front-end innovation engine will be backed by Dell’s best-in-class global supply chain. Think about the scale -- an $80+ billion revenue business. We will be the world’s largest enterprise systems company, across suppliers, partners, R&D and innovation. To put it simply:  the best innovation with the highest quality and the greatest value for customers. All of it under a private structure, aligned from our customer-focused innovation to leadership and ownership.

According to a recent Fortune Magazine survey, 84% of CEOs believe it would be easier to manage a private company. Or as I put it at Dell world, “EMC - $67 billion. Being master of your own destiny – Priceless.”

We also took the opportunity to reinforce our commitment to open partner ecosystems and our enduring relationships, like when CEO of Microsoft, @Satya Nadella, joined me on stage for a joint announcement on Hybrid Cloud and a candid discussion about the state of the industry.

I left Dell World, as I always do, totally energized. Our customers are changing the world through the power of their creativity and innovation. Together, we are going to build the world’s infrastructure for the next 20, 30 years. Can you imagine what our customers’ are going to accomplish: curing cancer, feeding and watering the world, creating jobs, hope and opportunity on a global scale. With Dell and EMC, we will have the vision, the innovation, the technology and the horsepower to dream that big. I can’t wait.

Investors are urged to read important information regarding the proposed transaction which may be obtained by visiting www.sec.gov or www.dell.com/futurereadydell.