Silicon Valley companies prepare for Dell assault on all fronts
For example, Dell has been competing with Sun in the low end of the server market for years and is trying to move up to higher-end servers.
Last year, it began selling Dell branded switches to small and medium-size businesses, directly challenging Cisco systems....
"When you're providing products that people want and need, and doing so at a price better than anyone else, you can call us what you want," Dell spokesman Mike Maher said.
..."I wouldn't say a grocery store," said [Bear Stearns analyst] Neff, who owns Dell stock and whose firm does banking business with HP. "I would say Wal-Mart. It is focused on scale, service and brand."
...Dell has kept its overall costs down, and spends only about $500 million in research and development, compared with HP's $4 billion.
Maher argues that there is "no reason for us to spend more money to do things that our partners are already doing."
Dell's rivals counter that the company is nothing more than a reseller of other firms' technologies.
"I have never known a computer company proud about not spending money on technology," said Shahin Khan, Sun's chief competitive officer.