Dell Computer Corporation
History of Dell Corporation
In 1984, Michael Dell founded Dell Computers. Since its foundation, the company has seen sales growth from $6 Million to almost $35 Billion in 18 years. Company revenue in the past year totaled $41.4 billion. Today the company ranks 31st in the Fortune 500 list. (Retrieved from Proquest) It is among the top 5 companies globally for manufacturing personal computer systems. Dell is a premier provider of products and services required for customers worldwide to build their information-technology. Dell’s climb to market leadership is the result of a persistent focus on delivering the best possible products and services based on industry-standard technology. Revenue for the last four quarters from totaled 35.4 Billion and the company employs approximately 39,100 team members around the globe. () Listed below is a synopsis of Dell Corporation history.
- 1984 - Dell is founded by Michael Dell, who has since become the computer industry’s longest-tenured CEO.
- 1985 – Dell introduces the Turbo, its initial PC, which features an 8MHz Intel 8088 processor. The company begins international expansion with the opening of its UK subsidiary.
- 1988 – Dell goes public, offering $3.5 million worth of shares.
- 1991 – The Company rolls out its first notebook PC, and begins selling its computers through retail and office supply channels.
- 1993 – Dell enters the Asia/Pacific region with the opening of subsidiaries in Australia and Japan. Its revenues rank the company among the top-five PC makers in the in the world.
- 1994 – The Company abandons its practice of selling its computers through retail establishments in favor of direct-mail sales.
- 1996--Dell initiates e-commerce through its Web site. Later in the year, the company begins to manufacture network servers.
- 1998– Web sales climb to an excess of $4 million daily. Dell introduces its Power Vault storage products, and opens a production and customer center in China.
- 1999 – The company opens it Latin American manufacturing facility in Brazil, and introduces an online technical support service.
- 2000 – The compnay’s Internet sales reach $50 million daily. Dell enters the B2B e-commerce arena, ranking first in terms of global workstation shipments.
- 2001 – Dell successfully sues DELLKOREA.COM in defense of its brand name under the Anti-cyber squatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999, according to a ruling by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The company also introduces its Power Connect network switches.
- 2002 – Dell enters the handheld market with the release of its Axiom X5. Its networking and server market position increase with broader adoption of its Power Connect and Power Edge products.
- 2003 – Changed its corporate name to Dell, Inc. To reflect the diversiification of teh compnay’s business applications from PCs to servers, handhelds, peripherals, and storage systems.
- 2004 – Michael Dell, the company’s founder, decided to hand over the title of CEO to Kevin Rollins, his partner since 1997. Dell agreed to retain the title of board chairman. Dell decided that this was the optimum time to hand over every day operation to his partner, while the company was in good shape financially and riding continually improving sales figures.