Audio: Dell's Lark on the local channel and PC market

Dell marketer Andy Lark says the NZ tier one distribution appointment of Simms International is a test case for the indirect model

By Rob O’Neill, Computerworld, Auckland | Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Dell marketing guru Andy Lark is passing through New Zealand on one of his periodic tours. Computerworld caught up with him yesterday to discuss the hardware market and wider technology developments.

Lark addresses Dell's fall to the number three spot in the PC market last year, courtesy of Acer, as well as Dell's local channel strategy, with the help of new country manager Mike Hill. Lark says the channel is the way to fast growth, and the vendor's diversified brand strategy is a chance for partners to be strategic.

He also touches on the future of social media and the death of the blog. What's the next big thing? The stream.

Cloud computing, he says, is not hype, but a fundamental change in the way IT is delivered. But there is a grave danger now being posed to users by a "swing back to proprietary" threatening lock-in and incompatibility.

The future is all x86, he says.

Listen to Lark on audio here.