Dell Dumps Cloud Aspirations

Going all the way back just prior to DellWorld in December 2012, Dell has been on an acquisition run to help bolster its world conquering plans to become a Cloud provider. I've said it many times that due to the state of the hardware industry, Dell needed to alter is business and make moves to being a Cloud provider. Each time, I've also submitted that Dell had the unique potential to pull it off because they had the single thing that the other Cloud pioneers didn't: the hardware.

Related: Iron Chef, Cloud Edition. Whose Cloud will reign supreme?

Related: Quest Was Not Enough, Dell Acquires Enstratius

Whether it's due to the lengthy process of deciding how the Dell company will move forward, or that Microsoft is ready with a large, monetary contribution to help Dell's future, or they just don't feel like they can compete with the already established Cloud providers, through a couple press releases, Dell has announced they will be stepping off the Cloud train. Who knows the real reasons? Press releases generally contain more spin than a day on the Tilt-A-Whirl. So, to fully understand a company's decisions, you have to know some history, read between the lines, and then wait a month or two to see what really shakes out.

Here's the press releases. Use your refined and highly tuned cognitive skills to gather the clues and make some sense of them. Make Scooby-Doo and the gang proud.

P.S. What's not clear is what will happen to the myriad of products that Dell obtained through the acquisition of Quest Software. Dell was using a lot of the Quest solutions, and transforming them, to benefit a post-PC Dell Cloud.

P.S.S. Paul has a great commentary posted today that you should check out. In it, he makes a very good case for Microsoft's Cloud and why Azure could very well replace "Windows."  Read it here: Azure Is the Future of Microsoft