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Table of Contents
PART I
All percentage amounts and ratios were calculated using the underlying data in thousands. Unless otherwise noted, all references to
time periods refer to our fiscal years. Our fiscal year is the 52 or 53 week period ending on the Friday nearest January 31.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, references in this report to "we," "us," "our" and "Dell" mean Dell Inc. and our
consolidated subsidiaries.
ITEM 1 — BUSINESS
General
Dell delivers innovative technology and services which customers trust and value. As a leading technology company, we offer a broad
range of products and services that we believe create optimal solutions for our customers that will provide them with the power to do
more.
Our company is a Delaware corporation and was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell on a simple concept: by selling computer systems
directly to customers, we can best understand their needs and efficiently provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those
needs. Over time we have expanded our business model to include a broader portfolio of products and services, and we have also added
new distribution channels, such as retail, system integrators, value-added resellers, and distributors, which allow us to reach even more
end-users around the world. We have optimized our global supply chain to best serve our global customer base, with a significant portion
of our production capabilities performed by contract manufacturers.
Dell Inc. is a holding company that conducts its business worldwide through its subsidiaries. Our global corporate headquarters is located
in Round Rock, Texas. When we refer to our company and its business in this report, we are referring to the business and activities of our
consolidated subsidiaries. We operate principally in one industry, and we manage our business in four global customer-oriented operating
segments that we identify as Large Enterprise, Public, Small and Medium Business, and Consumer.
We are committed to managing and operating our business in a responsible and sustainable manner around the globe. This includes our
commitment to environmental responsibility in all areas of our business. See "Government Regulation and Sustainability" below for
additional information. This also includes our focus on maintaining a strong control environment, high ethical standards, and financial
reporting integrity. See "Part II — Item 9A — Controls and Procedures" for a discussion of our internal control over financial reporting.
Business Strategy
Dell built its reputation as a leading technology provider through listening to customers and developing solutions that meet customer
needs. We are focused on providing long-term value creation through the delivery of customized solutions that make technology more
efficient, more accessible, and easier to use.
We will continue to focus on shifting our portfolio to higher-margin and recurring revenue streams over time, improving our core
business, and maintaining a balance of liquidity, profitability, and growth. We consistently focus on generating strong cash flow returns,
which allows us to expand our capabilities and acquire new ones. We seek to grow revenue over the long term while improving operating
income and cash flow. In accordance with our differentiated view of enterprise solutions, we offer our customers open, capable,
affordable, and integrated solutions. We have three primary components to our strategy:
• Providing Efficient Enterprise Solutions. We are focused on expanding our enterprise solutions and services, which include
servers, networking, storage, and services. We believe opportunities for data centers, servers and storage will continue to
expand and we are focused on providing these best value, simplification, and more open data center solutions to our customers.
These are the kind of solutions that we believe Dell is well positioned to provide. We believe that our installed customer base,
access to customers of all sizes, and capabilities position us to achieve growth in our customer solutions business. We will focus
our investments to grow our business organically as well as inorganically through alliances and
1