Dell predicts demise of IT consultants

 

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By Tim Danton

Posted on 23 Sep 2008 at 12:54

Dell's head of operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa today predicted the gradual demise of IT consultancy.

"One thing CIOs tell us is that they spend 75% of their current IT budget keeping the lights on, keeping products running," said David Marmonti, Dell President, EMEA.

"Our goal is to shift that mix from 75% keeping the lights on and 25% innovation to less than 50% keeping the lights on."

Marmonti described Dell Managed Services as an á la carte approach to IT services, so businesses of all sizes can choose what they need.

Dell has already launched the service in trials in the US, which it currently offers in New York and Texas.

Initially, the UK service will be trialled in London late in 2008, and though Marmonti wouldn't be drawn on exactly when it would be rolled out to other areas in the country he was bullish about the end goal: "the intention here clearly is to have a global footprint".

"It goes well beyond traditional break-fix warranties," he added. Referring to the launch of trials in the US, he said: "It was really geared at fixing two environments, one of which is the tier two helpdesk - for companies that already runs their own help desk, to offer them support. The other is for end users, so when companies want their users to call somebody we provide that service."

So should IT consultants be worried right now? "Is it going to flip overnight? Probably not. But is there a trend? There clearly is."