We all want and need new technology to power our businesses, help employees work more productively, and bring more convenience and flexibility to our lives. But more of us are increasingly troubled by the impact our appetite for tech has on climate change, waste, and the shrinking supply of natural resources: SMB Group’s SMB Directions for the Future of Work Survey reveals that 77% of SMB respondents are very or somewhat concerned about climate change.
With Earth Day 2022 just around the corner (April 22), Dell Technologies is introducing new initiatives and products that yet again underscore its long-standing commitment to both technological innovation and sustainability.
Innovation For Flexible Workstyles and Improved Productivity
Many companies created or expanded remote and hybrid work alternatives during the COVID-19 pandemic. SMB Group’s SMB Directions for the Future of Work survey indicates that 70% of SMBs now offer a remote work program, and they are more likely to increase remote and hybrid work options than they are to pull back.
Dell’s new portfolio of intelligent PCs, accessories, software and services recognizes that remote and hybrid work is here to stay, and focuses on creating a better employee experience, regardless of where work gets done.
Dell Optimizer, an integrated artificial intelligence software suite is at the heart of powering new collaboration, intelligence, and security features for users. New Intelligent Privacy features, for instance, allow users to conceal sensitive information on their screen if an intruder is detected, and can automatically dim when the user looks away from the screen to protect data and conserve power. Dell Optimizer also features the world’s first simultaneous multi-network connection, which lets users connect to two wired or wireless networks at once for faster data transfers and downloads—all while delivering less buffering and up to 30% lower latency. In addition, Dell Optimizer also adds enhanced neural-noise cancellation to sense a user’s surroundings, and reduce unwanted background noise; and modular installation so users and admins can now pick and choose which features they want to install.
Dell also announced a slew of new products, which incorporate Dell Optimizer technology, such as:
- Latitude 9430 and Latitude 7330 Ultralight, the world’s smallest and lightest 13.3-inch premium commercial 16:9 laptop weighing less than 1 kg.
- Precision 5470 is the world’s smallest, thinnest and most powerful 14” mobile workstation.
- Ecosystem devices built to create a seamless experience. These include Microsoft Teams-certified Dell Speakerphone and Dell Dual Charge Dock, the world’s first laptop docking station with wireless charging for Qi-enabled smartphones that supports dual 4K monitors.
- Refreshed XPS 15 and XPS 17, updated with 12th Gen Intel Core H-Series processors.
- Dell UltraSharp 32 (U3223QE) and 27 (U2723QE) 4K USB-C Hub monitors are the first monitors to incorporate IPS Black technology to provide rich contrast, deep blacks, and improved viewing angles. They also offer wide color coverage, ComfortView Plus for enhanced eye comfort, multitasking features, and a host of connectivity ports.
Dell is also bringing new security protections, including software-based, above the operating system protections, and hardware-based, below the OS capabilities, to better safeguard systems from cyberthreats. In addition, the new Self-Healing Image Recovery for Dell Latitudes provides OS restoration after a catastrophic issue.
New Sustainability Advances Across Products and Packaging
Long before it became fashionable for most other tech companies, Dell began offering recycling to customers in 1996. Since then, Dell has set—and achieved—ambitious sustainability goals for recyclability and the circular economy.
The company’s Moonshot goals for 2030 for sustainability continue to raise the bar, and include:
- For every product a customer buys, Dell will reuse or recycle an equivalent product.
- 100% of its packaging will be made from recycled or renewable material.
- More than half of its product content will be made from recycled or renewable material.
Dell’s latest sustainability initiatives include a new initiative called Concept Luna, a prototype program designed to help designers and engineers discover and incorporate ways to reduce waste and increase the use of renewable materials.
Dell’s new portfolio features several advances in using sustainable materials. For instance:
- New packaging made of 100% recycled or renewable materials, which will be fully recyclable, and shipping with all new Latitude series laptops, Precision mobile workstations and XPS devices.
- New Latitude 5000 series is the poster child for product sustainability. The 5000 series will feature a laptop lid made from 71% recyclable and renewable materials, including tree-based bioplastic upcycled from the paper-making industry, reclaimed carbon fiber, and post-consumer recycled plastic. Since the Latitude is Dell’s highest-volume PC, and the lid is the second heaviest part of the device, this should help Dell dramatically reduce the product’s carbon, water, and energy footprint. But that’s not all: The base of the system incorporates reclaimed carbon fiber (20%) and new bio-based rubber feet made from castor bean oil, to reduce reliance on petroleum-based materials. Finally, 28% of the fan housing in the Latitude 5000 series comes from ocean-bound plastics.
- Dell is also using ocean-bound plastics in the fan housing in the Precision 3000 series mobile workstations; in the fan and fan housing in Dell OptiPlex Micro desktops and Precision Workstations; and in its EcoLoop Pro series of backpacks, sleeves, and briefcases.
- The bottom bumpers of the Latitude 7430 and 7530 and Precision 3000 series Mobile Workstations utilize renewable, bio-based rubber derived from castor beans.
Perspective
Dell continues to drive home the point you don’t need to sacrifice innovation for sustainability—or vice versa. In fact, Dell’s initiatives show that each can complement and strengthen the other.
With these new announcements, Dell is providing more choices for customers to meet the challenges of new ways of working, and at the same time, making it easy to choose a sustainable path.
© SMB Group 2022
Source: Laurie McCabe’s Blog