Epic Events: Anticipating Hurricanes, Earthquakes and More

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The Global Command Centers are the epicenter of our responsiveness as a service organization. We ensure that customers get support as quickly as they can – whatever the situation, wherever they are – we strive to deliver on our promise of industry-leading services on time, every time.

Transforming the Global Command Center for Extraordinary Circumstances

When disaster strikes, natural or man-made, we are at the ready so our customers’ operations stay as undisrupted as possible. I joined the Dell services organization in 2000. Our mission has never changed, but our technology, processes, and the expertise of our people have. We’ve evolved, and will continue to as advanced analytics, process mining, and AI and ML are operationalized.

To continue to be successful, our team:

  • Designed and executed changes that moved preparation and response from manual to automated
  • Learned from proactive technology so we can develop steps to implement predictive planning
  • Is developing a team with the vision to see change as opportunity and the skills to use it to our advantage
  • Continues to lead by achieving constant, incremental change culminating in a real evolution

The everyday distractions of running a business make it hard to focus on, much less plan and execute, the digital transformation of your business and workforce. In our Global Command Centers, we know that we must make the time to think about, plan, and implement the changes that will make transformation real – for our customers, our partners, and our team members.

2017 was a year of extraordinary nature that had it all… floods, fires, earthquakes, drought, hurricanes, cyclones and mudslides. Natural disasters caused record-breaking devastation in Texas, Puerto Rico, India and around the globe.

Demand for Agile Service Model

As I watched the events of 2017 unfold, the efforts I witnessed around me – both professional and personal – were inspiring. Our teams proactively responded at an astounding pace and revealed a true dedication to our customers and our communities.

In those months, we also knew there was more work to be done to decrease response times, increase the speed at which customers can connect with us, and continue to drive the digitalization of tools and processes. We needed to demand a more agile service model.

It was a year that taught us to push further, faster. We need to react more quickly, react more proactively, and be predictive to help our customers get technology up and running with as little disruption as possible – in the aftermath of any event. Technology is the hub of human activity. It runs everything from our communication systems, hospitals, and schools to businesses of all sizes –  it’s what holds our daily lives – and our livelihoods – together.

Since late 2017, our six Global Command Centers have implemented a series of changes that automate processes, increase connectivity, simplify tools, expand coverage, and help us develop our workforce with new talent and new ideas. Using the best in advanced analytics, we mine ever growing data stores to reveal real-time status, advanced insights and actionable recommendations.

Process digitalization, and automation will be our cornerstone as we continue to evolve based on customer needs, the types of risks we see, and changes in technology. To be effective we must be agile, always thinking around corners and evaluating customer needs.

Proactive and Predictive Approach

We have evolved from reactive to proactive, and now to predictive analysis to help customers anticipate future events. We have set a goal for a predictive service model for our customers and are taking the steps to make it a reality. What ‘good looks like’ is no longer ‘good enough’ – not for us, and not for our customers.

Instead of running to put out fires we will prevent many and predict the behavior of others to design the best approach to intervene and limit risk.

Our dual goals are to 1) streamline and transform our own business and 2) to pass that knowledge on. We want to partner with you, not only in modernizing IT services but as source of collaboration and expertise through your own transformation journey.

Summary

I am excited to share with you what we have accomplished in the last 18 months and what we have planned for the next. Come join our discussion to learn how automation has standardized and improved response plans and why we are committed to our ongoing investment in both process digitalization and the evolution of our team.

About the Author: Doug Driskill

Doug Driskill joined Dell in 2000 and has most recently served as Vice President of Dell Americas Commercial Support Services business. Doug leads an organization of over 5,000 direct and partner team members delivering remote support services in over 40 countries. Doug's responsibilities include managing enterprise and client support service delivery operations for commercial enterprises ranging from small businesses to the Global 500. Remote support operations include L1-L4 technical support and cover a broad range of products, technologies and solutions including networking, server, storage, software, and edge client products in converged, virtualized, and open standards environments. Doug has over 25 years of experience leading operations and service delivery organizations at both the regional and global level. His key experiences include building high performance teams, globalizing businesses, developing org/talent, leading business integrations, and transforming businesses.
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