@Dell Technologies Inc. is shaking up its Infrastructure Solutions Group with a series of organizational changes that boost the influence of Dell veterans at the expense of executives who came over with the computer giant’s 2016 acquisition of EMC Corp. Just four months after former ISG president @David Goulden, a former top EMC executive, stepped down in favor of 30-year Dell veteran @Jeff Clarke, Dell is disbanding the Converged Platforms and Solutions Division of the infrastructure group, which was led by an EMC veteran. CPSD’s products will be distributed among existing server, storage and networking groups, according to sources. CPSD encompassed a crowded portfolio that included the EMC-built #VxRack and #VxRail #hyperconverged appliances, the #VxBlock converged platform and the #ScaleIO #softwaredefinedstorage product, along with some enterprise cloud offerings. The unit was also responsible for selling the #DellXC hyperconverged appliance in partnership with @Nutanix Inc. Under the new organization, converged and hyperconverged computing platforms will move into the Dell EMC Server Division, while the VxBlock and ScaleIO storage products will go under the storage division. The hyperconverged product line will be led by Ashley Gorakhpurwalla, a Dell veteran who heads Dell EMC’s Server Division. It will continue to operate on its own profit and loss line, however. Converged infrastructure will be run by Jeff Boudreau, a former EMC executive who heads the Storage Division. Engineering for both the converged and hyperconverged product lines will be managed by Networking Division head Tom Burns, who came from Dell. Clarke is also tweaking ISG’s marketing function, which had previously been run in a decentralized manner by former EMC exec Jeremy Burton and Goulden. Marketing is moving into a central ISG function that will be overseen by Clarke and Burton. A Dell EMC spokeswoman said the new structure “is designed to help simplify our organization for clear lines of decision making, get our products to market faster and align our teams to our biggest priorities.” For those keeping score, the remaining question is what becomes of Chad Sakac, the former EMC executive who led the now-disbanded CPSD. He is reportedly a well-liked figure within Dell EMC as well as an articulate spokesman. A spokeswoman wouldn’t say whether Sakac will stay with the company, commenting, “Once he decides his next move, we’ll let you know.” The moves appear to be an effort to boost Dell EMC’s flagging storage division, which has reported flat sales for the past two quarters. In Dell’s most recent quarterly earnings call, Clarke acknowledged that “We have lost share [in storage]. That’s undeniable.” “The storage business has been losing share to IBM, NetApp and Pure Storage,” said David Vellante, chief analyst at research firm Wikibon, a sister company of SiliconANGLE. “Michael Dell doesn’t suffer poor business performance. You execute or you’re out.” The moves also tighten the grip of pre-merger Dell executives on the enterprise business of the combined companies. Dell founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell has billed his company’s acquisition of EMC as a marriage of equals, but most of the senior executives who have departed since the deal was announced came from the EMC side. They include former CEO Joe Tucci, Goulden, former EMC enterprise storage chief Brian Gallagher and Richard Napolitano, who previously headed EMC’s unified storage business. Clarke will bring Dell’s fast-paced style and focus on simplicity to an EMC culture that was slower-moving and proud of the complexity of its products. “Jeff Clarke is, by all accounts, a very good operations person who was brought in to change things and drive business performance,” Vellante said. The analyst added that his contacts within the former EMC told him they’ve been surprised at the speed with which the new owner has revamped everything from human resources to internal communications. “I don’t think they’re used to operating at that speed,” he said. Splitting up the converged and hyper converged product lines may also be an effort to reduce complexity and simplify the product portfolio, Vellante said. Between products developed internally by EMC, a legacy partnership with Cisco Systems Inc. and a reseller deal with Nutanix, Dell EMC was suffering from an embarrassment of riches that was confusing customers. “Clarke may be trying to streamline that organization,” Vellante said. “Dell’s is a high-volume company, and they can live with lower margins because they’re so cost-conscious.”
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