Dell Announces Cloud Client Computing for Retail at NRF

Dell is hoping to see retailers shift to the cloud. At the National Retail Foundation Annual 2013 conference, it announced it would be rolling out an end-to-end cloud solution specifically designed with retailers in mind. The goal is to help retailers seamlessly move to an in-store cloud environment.

Dell's Cloud Client Computing for Retail will kick off on March 4 with POS, kiosk and back office systems being supported with on-premise or retailer-hosted cloud infrastructure. The second phase of the cloud retailer solution rollout will come in the summer, at which point Dell will launch additional store systems that will be support digital signage and surveillance hardware.

The final phase of the solution rollout will happen in the fall. In the last phase, Dell will provide an option for store systems to be supported by Dell-hosted cloud infrastructure.

Essentially, it's three separate modules — thin and mobile endpoints with and without POS peripherals; on-premise desktop virtualization infrastructure; and cloud-based desktop virtualization infrastructure. The entire solution will include Dell PowerEdge servers, Dell PowerVault storage, Dell PowerConnect networking, Dell Wyse cloud clients, OptiPlex desktops, Latitude tablets, Dell SonicWALL network security, and support for virtualization software from Citrix, Microsoft, VMware and Dell.

"Until now, most retailers have had to cobble together products and services from multiple vendors in order to address cloud solutions and virtualization in their store environment," said Mike Adams, retail industry practice lead at Dell, in a prepared statement. With the acquisitions of Wyse, SonicWALL and Quest, Dell believes it's now able to provide a total end-to-end solution that's ready to go for the retail market.

According to Dell, Cloud Client Computing for Retail "delivers a reliable, cost-effective, end-to-end solution that can allow access to any application from any device."

What this will mean for Dell's reseller partners is unknown at this point. Will resellers be included in the rollout of this cloud solution? We'll have to wait to find out.