The Flawed Model of the Early Computer Industry

Michael Dell, Dell, Inc.

During its inception, Dell explains how the computer industry was run by engineers. Over a thirty-year period however, customers began to have an important role in the industry, but many companies were still being run by engineers working to promote complexity. With complicated products being sold, says Dell, customers had to rent specialized software and hire consultants from the computer companies to get their products to work. As a result, to the advantage of the computer companies, customers spent excessive amounts of money on personal computers; a model that Dell calls fundamentally flawed.