Five days ago Dell announced a strategic digital experience investment — and boasted that it underscored the company's "commitment to supporting customers in their digital journey."
Today it confirmed it was selling the same Plano, Texas-based technology services business unit that made the investment to Japan's NTT DATA.
Goodbye Dell Services
In a filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange today, NTT Data — a subsidiary of the Japanese telecommunications company Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. — acknowledged plans to buy Dell Services for $3.05 billion.
Dell Services is the information technology consulting division of Round Rock, Texas-based Dell.
In a joint press release, the companies said the deal will "significantly increase NTT DATA’s presence in North America, strengthen and expand its global delivery network, and bolster its infrastructure services capabilities."
If granted regulatory approval, the deal could also give Dell some cash to help finance its planned private equity-backed $67 billion acquisition of the Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC Corp.
Last October, EMC entered into an agreement to merge with Dell. The deal, according to Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell, will create "an enterprise technology powerhouse."
The proposal has triggered a series of lawsuits from unhappy investors, but appears to remain on track to close later this year.
So About that Digital Experience
NTT DATA said Dell Services would continue to operate under the leadership of Suresh Vaswani, current president of Dell Services, until the transaction closes.
So what happens that new Digital Experience Studio in Plano that Dell Services so enthusiastically announced just last week? In a statement to CMSWire, Dell said only that
"Assets like the digital studio will transition to NTT DATA."
Dell described the studio as an integral part of its efforts to help enterprises digitally transform.
"Our customers are investing more in digital transformation and activity. This studio creates a collaborative space for our customers that will ultimately help them take advantage of these advances and understand what is possible for their digital journey,” Suresh Vaswani, president of Dell Services said in a statement last week.
It's unclear whether the new owner will share the same view about the studio, which was designed as a safe space for businesses overwhelmed by the idea of digital transformation.
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The studio includes five zones that will offer enterprises hands-on concept design and realization, real time journey maps and associated touchpoints around their digital transformation projects.
They will also be offered Internet of Things and usability testing, an assessment of mobile first approach to digital as well as exposure to digital marketing and social media listening.
Other Players
While the future of Dell's effort is murky, there are other players in the digital experience space.
EY, for example, just opened four new Centers of Excellence in Singapore to offer digital services to enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region.
The four centers will connect enterprises in the region to 43,000 client-facing professionals employed by EY. It will offer multinational companies that are in the process of digital transformation access to business transformation strategy, cybersecurity, analytics and manufacturing capabilities.
Cisco announced new strategic investments in India totaling $100 million, including $40 million to fund early-stage and growth-stage enterprises.
Cisco will collaborate with state governments in India on strategic initiatives including the addition of six new innovation labs, three centers of expertise, funded university collaborations and skills investments to support the country's digitization plans.
HP entered the fray in January with the launch of its Customer Engagement Centre (CEC) in London. It aims to help enterprise customers with digital transformation strategies using HP technologies.
And IBM is buying up technologies or businesses that it can’t build itself. In one week alone in early February, it bought three digital marketing agencies, all of which will be added to its IBM Interactive Experience business.
So no matter what becomes of the Dell Experience Studio, there are plenty of options for companies struggling with digital transformation.
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