Machine Learning is going to Change the Future
Three decades ago, Michael Dell, then a young medical student in the United States, created in his bedroom what would be years later one of the three companies that sell the …
Three decades ago, Michael Dell, then a young medical student in the United States, created in his bedroom what would be years later one of the three companies that sell the most computers in the world: Dell. Gathering computer equipment that was left over from other companies, the entrepreneur managed at 19 to improve computers and become one of the most notable figures in the market.
He left his studies, devoted himself completely to the business and today occupies the 25th position in the list of the richest people in the world according to Forbes. Those who know him say that he has the ability to answer any question in a sentence or to extend 15 minutes to explain a single word, and agree that Michael Dell is obsessed with technology being the most used tool to improve the future, especially in labor and medical matters.
In fact, that was one of the main topics in his opening speech at Dell Technologies World 2019, the company’s most important annual event that took place last week in Las Vegas (USA). From there, Dell spoke with journalists and media , on various topics, including business perspectives, the importance of diversity and challenges for their company.
I think about a couple of challenges. The first and most important is that companies must reimagine and reinvent their old businesses. Even with the explosion of data and new technologies, such as artificial intelligence or machine learning, they must have the right personnel, the right tools and data security. And they must do it quickly, because the changes do not go slow. Our strategy is to be the best ally for our clients in that process.
They should start with the client, ask what result they are trying to achieve and then design their services based on the desired results. They must experiment, try, learn, try new things, and then take learning to improve things. This is what we do in our company and all organizations should be in that same process.
If an organization has a large amount of data and is not using it to create better results for those who are serving, I think it would be very uncompetitive.
I think it’s a very interesting technology. Let’s say that we are in 1975, in a meeting, and someone says: What would be the impact of Microsoft? But nobody knew about all the incredible things that would come and that there would be more than 2 billion computers, smartphones and all these incredible things.
Then in 1995, the same thing happened with the internet, we asked ourselves the impact. I think 5G is that big in terms of speed and quantity of data, new capabilities, it will create new applications for health care, transportation, education, manufacturing, retail, and the reinvention and creation of new businesses. So we are over-excited about it.
If you look back, it has been incredibly difficult to predict the future. What I do believe is that the ingredients of technology will continue to improve at a tremendous rate. The human machine theme will be stronger. There are many scary Hollywood movies that use technologies for scenes like the destruction of the world, but it will be different, better than that. It is the opportunity to use technology for good.
How can we continue to grow and help our customers in the digital transformation. If I look at last year, we added more than US $ 11,000 million in revenues, we grew more than US $ 91,000 million and we are growing faster in Latin America. Our challenge is to continue growing and solve the problems our clients have.
I would say that we did not achieve that on a particular day, it has been a gradual process for us. If we think about why we are doing it, it is very simple: we need talent, and with an inclusion department we have better results. One of the things we are doing now is hiring new people with new visions and perceptions, which helps us to be a better and more successful company.
I’m not in the business of giving recommendations like that (laughs). Sometimes I’m in conferences and someone asks me: “I’m an entrepreneur, what should I do?” Well, a businessman does not say “what should I do”, he knows what to do. I was lucky to be naive or persistent enough to make my idea work.
For me, an entrepreneur does not need so many tips. I believe in the idea of experimenting and learning; in the determination, which is a great factor for success. Young people have an advantage because they have new perspectives, and that benefits the companies. It is always necessary to look at situations from different perspectives, ask questions.
I think they have a good picture of that. We had record attendance at the Dell Technologies World, quantities of innovation, laboratories, research and development. I think the appetite for digital transformation is very high for customers, given the amount of data, which is expanding rapidly.
We are very well positioned with respect to our competitors. We are number one in all forms of infrastructure, storage and servers. I am very optimistic about the future.
