DTW 2024: Dell’s AI Factory Aims to Usher in a New Era of Democratised AI

The Industrial Revolution roared to life with the rise of factories, churning out physical goods that transformed societies. Dell Technologies believes that today, we stand at the precipice of another revolution, driven by the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI). To empower businesses in this new era, and to kickstart Dell Technologies World 2024 (DTW 2024), Dell introduced the AI Factory – not a physical location, but a comprehensive vision and suite of tools designed to help organisations harness the true potential of AI.

This offering, available through traditional purchases or as part of a Dell APEX subscription, aims to give customers flexibility and control over their AI deployments. The Dell AI Factory integrates Dell’s expansive AI portfolio with an open ecosystem of technology partners, enabling the creation of customised AI applications.

Michael Dell, Founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, captured the essence of the AI revolution during his keynote speech where he said:

“We are unleashing technology that will unleash scientific technology and development…to transform how we live and work. We’re moving from computation to cognition – towards the age of AI.”

Building the Foundation for AI Success

The Dell AI Factory is built upon Dell Technologies’ existing portfolio of AI-optimised devices, servers, storage, data protection, and networking solutions. To further enhance this offering, Dell is introducing new additions specifically designed for demanding AI workloads. These are:

AI PCs for Enhanced Creativity and Productivity

Dell is launching its said to be, the most powerful Copilot+ PCs yet, featuring Snapdragon® X Elite and Snapdragon® X Plus processors and boasting new Microsoft AI experiences. These laptops target both professionals and consumers, promising exceptional performance, long battery life, and built-in AI that streamlines workflows through intelligent management of local computing resources.

Powering AI with Advanced Data Management and Protection

The Dell AI Factory addresses the critical need for efficient data management and protection in AI initiatives. New solutions include:

• PowerScale F910 All-Flash File Storage: Delivers significantly faster access to AI insights with improved performance and density.
• PowerScale: Project Lightning: A high-performance parallel file system designed to accelerate training times for complex AI models.
• Dell Solution for AI Data Protection: Offers comprehensive protection for AI data and applications with Dell data protection software, appliances, and a streamlined deployment approach.

Unleashing AI Performance with Boosted Networking

The Dell AI Factory incorporates advancements in networking technology to ensure smooth and efficient AI operations:

• Dell PowerSwitch Z9864F-ON: Doubles network performance for AI applications with its modern architecture that prioritises high throughput, low latency, and scalability.
• Dell PowerEdge XE9680: Supports high-speed 400G Ethernet adapters, enabling organisations to build robust network fabrics for exceptional performance and efficiency.
• Enhanced SONiC Distribution and SmartFabric Manager: Provide innovative features that streamline deployment, management, and performance optimisation for AI-specific network fabrics.

Accelerating AI Adoption with a Thriving Partner Ecosystem

Dell has been fostering deep collaborations with leading technology partners to deliver pre-integrated solutions and simplify AI implementation for customers. These collabs include companies such as:

• Hugging Face: A first-of-its-kind collaboration that offers optimised on-premises deployment of generative AI models. This joint effort allows businesses to train and deploy custom large language models directly within Hugging Face’s open AI development platform.
• Meta: Continued collaboration to streamline the deployment of Meta Llama 3 models on Dell infrastructure, providing valuable resources like test results and deployment guides.
• Microsoft Azure AI Services: Expedites deployment of AI services like speech recognition and translation on the Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure.

Simplifying the AI Journey with Expert Services

Dell also announced that it is expanding its AI Professional Services portfolio to help customers achieve optimal business outcomes from their AI investments. These services include:

• Implementation Services for Microsoft Copilot solutions: Offer expert guidance on integrating Microsoft Copilot experiences across various applications to transform workflows.
• Accelerator Services for Dell Enterprise Hub on Hugging Face: Reduce development time for rapid AI prototyping using the Dell Portal on Hugging Face, along with strategic advice on tool selection and use case alignment.

All in all, Dell Technologies’ launch of the Dell AI Factory underscores their commitment to democratising AI. This comprehensive suite of solutions, services, and expertise aims to simplify the AI journey for organisations of all sizes and industries, empowering them to harness the full potential of AI.