Dell Dives Deep Into Data Centers

Dell(DELL Quote) is the latest tech firm to recreate itself, unveiling a slew of new servers, storage options and services in an attempt to drive data center revenue.

With M&A talk still swirling around IBM(IBM Quote) and Sun Microsystems(JAVA Quote), and networking Cisco Systems(CSCO Quote) now selling servers, Dell is looking to reassert itself in the enterprise.

The Round Rock, Texas-based firm, which competes with IBM and Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote), unveiled 14 new products Wednesday.

These include M-Series blade servers, PowerEdge servers, EqualLogic PS6000 storage arrays, new workstations and services offerings.

Better known as a PC maker, Dell is now trying to establish itself as a company offering a broader range of enterprise products, according to Charles King, principal analyst at technology research firm Pund-IT.

"They have very strong relationships with many enterprises, but that has historically been in desktop computing," he said.

Since returning as the company's CEO in early 2007, Michael Dell has tried to bolster the firm's data center business and is now launching x86 servers built with Intel's(INTC Quote) next-generation Nehalem processor.

"I suppose you could look at this as something of a coming-out party," said Pund-IT's King, who thinks that the desperate economy could work to Dell's favor. "The turmoil we're in right now has leveled the playing field - it's not as if customers are turning a blind eye to any one company's products."

Word of Dell's product blitz did little for investors, however. Despite a broader advance in tech stocks that saw the Nasdaq rise 1.57%., Dell shares slipped 5 cents, or 0.48%, to $10.36 Wednesday.