Experiences at Dell Incorporated

Three-Tier architecture Hardware/Software (Oracle, SQL, SAP, Maximo, Customized) complex design and order specifications, High Performance Compute Cluster architecture with low-latency interconnect complex design and order specifications including associated installation services required the most resources and time to finalize architecture. In nearly all solution scenarios, the customer provided their performance specification and sample solution sets. These specification and sample data sets were placed into Proof-of-Concept labs where measurements were captured and normalized thus providing feedback to adjust the overall architected solution, then subsequent pricing.

Online entertainment industry presented a unique set of challenges related to massive light-out data-center deployments around the globe, where established customer standards were proven, yet some standards presented a disconnect with the qualified solution stack. Technical support teams were crucial to minimizing and eliminating the standards disconnect issues....

Seven years as a pre-sales account team member with specific focus on Dell's Enterprise Products Portfolio. Accounts assigned were Dell's most significant and largest Enterprise corporate customers where engagements at the CxO, VP, and Director levels were typical and frequent. Assigned customer industries included financial, real estate, engineering, publications, pharmaceutical, aerospace, automotive, textiles, on-line gaming, classified/specialized computing, and general manufacturing.

Consulted with customers developing enterprise solutions consisting of Microsoft specific applications, appliances, single-tier applications, traditional networking infrastructures, 3-Tier data center custom solutions, as well as production-specific High-Performance Compute Clusters (HPCC). Architected enterprise solutions comprised of multi-vendor products and services employing multiple compute-nodes, heterogeneous-technology interconnects, complex back-end storage, and specialized master-control applications. Delivered customer solutions utilizing Dell Services ranging from custom deployments to full, turnkey, complex implementations. Engaged Dell Marketing, Engineering, and Technologist internal resources to obtain direct customer feedback, collaborate on future products/technologies roadmaps, and to foster customer relationships ultimately ensuring ongoing sales opportunities. Facilitated direct customer-to-partner meetings further enhancing all relationships, solidifying customer requirements, while enabling partner's to increase robustness of their product portfolio. Explored emerging technologies with customers and partners with extensive focus on Clustered Files Systems....

The key attributes to be a Dell Systems Consultant:
1) Understand the architecture components.
2) Present and Articulate solution to CxO, VP, Director, etc, for finalization.
3) Identify future projects, Pull-in future projects.

***DETAILS***
A) Experience with architecture stacks including the following key stack classifications:
1) Hardware Platform Stack consisting of: Servers, Storage, Networking, Interconnects, Management HW & SW.
2) Operating System Stack: Selection driven by customer specified production requirements.
3) Input/Output Device Stack: Version and Interrelationship Impact related to, Firmware, Drivers, Hardware Rev.
Branding, Interconnect Specification compliance, IO Device vs Solution Qualification Paramters.
4) Controller Application Stack: Selection driven by production requirements specification and solution
qualifications. User is typically Systems Administrator.
5) General Application Stack: Selection decision more generalized and several options may be available
provided that qualification or minimum requirements are considered and change control is applied. User is
typically assigned employee User-Base or Systems Operators
6) Production Stack: Unique unprocessed unrefined data-set submitted by the customer in a format compatible
for processing by all lower stacks listed where refined results may be issued in final form at various stack-
levels depending on the requirements around formatted or raw data-set results.
7) Environmental Stack: Data-center footprint characterizations such as a)Power, b)Cooling, c)Aisle Orientation
d)Seismic protection requirements, e)Fire/Safety equipment capabilities f)Proximity specification to
pre-existing devices, g)Partner contact for every interconnected product h)Customer requirements for any
specific environmental component attribute, i)Customer provided security specification - electronic and
physical j)Customer past or present data-center move plans - allows preplanning and documenting of any
specific zone locations that will be impacted if moved. k)Product racking specification using a rack mid-point
reference resulting in the shortest and fewest length differences and excessive bulking.

B) Ability to translate customer business requirements into a logically oriented set of "stacks" thus enabling the
generalized business requirement to be translated into identifiable layers of product solutions when
encapsulated and assurance that all business requirements are met or exceeded, the solution can be priced
against a Bill of Materials and tied to a customer Purchase Order. Layer enhancements/consideration points
should be implemented to address, investment protection, scalability, compliance, ease-of-operations, attach-
points for future functionality. These points can also be adjusted to address budgetary constraints, or pull-in
budgetary dollars that were targeted for future enhancements, unforeseen requirements, or meet an actual
business requirement such as cost-reduction goals established in an alternate department for a future
date.

C) The Stack approach translated from a customer business requirement can then be converted into a CxO, VP,
etc. presentable template that builds a business-case around holistic cost-savings, efficiency gains, etc, while
demonstrating that all requirements have been met. Discussion of architected enhancement points will drive
conversations around new projects, cost-reduction ideas, and efficiency enhancements.

D) The Stack approach solution once finalized drives efficiencies around pricing, component warranty and
servicing contract requirements, installation professional services and timing of delivery of installation phases,
production managed services as required, template finalized for physical installation....