With lots of new gadgets being revealed at CES, Dell decided to step away from all of the gadgets (although they did unveil some new products) and announce plans for an online data migration and backup service. They’re planning for this service to be available later this year in the United States, so what’s it all about?
Dell is planning to enable customers to securely transfer documents, programs, drivers, settings, and other information using a broadband connection, to a secure data-storage portal. With all of their important documents and programs stored, consumers would be able to have them pre-installed by Dell during the manufacturing process.
This would be really useful when you’re getting a new computer because you wouldn’t have to worry about how you’re going to get everything transferred over. You could just back up online and when you got your new PC, you’d be ready to go. Mr. Dell had this to say about it:
“Consumers have repeatedly told us they’d like this type of assistance and we’re answering the call. Dell is uniquely positioned to offer these personalized services because of our direct model — nobody else can do this the way we can”
There are of course a few issues that come to mind like security. Will data be encrypted that is uploaded? Your privacy is also at risk with others potentially able to view your files. I don’t think you’d want other people viewing your sensitive data. And finally, there’s no word whether or not there will be a charge for this service, and if there is, how much it will be.
It’s always such a hassle to move files from one computer to another, I think this is a great idea and something a lot of people would appreciate. If only other companies took this into consideration.
News Source: GigaOM
Nobody else has a direct model? How about HP, IBM, [mpccorp.com] [falcon-nw.com] etc. Doesn’t he know his own competitors?
This service could be useful. I do love having the network services switch out work PCs because they make quick work out of transferring files and settings.
I think Dell’s direct model is a little different because they really customize every aspect of the PC. For that reason they’ll be able to offer their backup software as an option to be installed when people purchase a new PC. Many computer manufacturer’s that I’ve dealt with in the past offer some customization, like RAM or hard drive but I haven’t seen much in the way of software customization…especially when it is free software. I think Dell is extremely smart for entering this market before it passes them.