Dell launches new AI innovations for enterprise & research
Dell has announced a range of advancements in enterprise AI infrastructure, solutions and services to support organisations seeking to adopt and scale artificial intelligence.
The company reported that 75% of organisations view AI as central to their strategy, but high costs and data security concerns remain significant obstacles. Dell aims to address these challenges by simplifying deployment, reducing expenses and enabling secure, scalable AI adoption through its expanded Dell AI Factory, enhanced infrastructure and an expanding partner ecosystem.
The Dell AI Factory, launched a year ago, has received more than 200 updates and now supports AI workloads at any scale with new infrastructure, software improvements and collaborations with partners such as NVIDIA, Meta and Google. The company states its approach to on-premises AI inference can be up to 62% more cost effective for large language models compared to public cloud options.
Among the notable product introductions is the Dell Pro Max Plus laptop, equipped with the Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card, which the company states is the world's first mobile workstation to include an enterprise-grade discrete NPU. This platform is intended to provide rapid, secure on-device inferencing for large AI models, facilitating edge deployments outside traditional data centres. The Qualcomm AI 100 PC Inference Card offers 32 AI-cores and 64GB of memory to support engineers and scientists working with sizeable data models.
Addressing the energy demands of AI workloads, Dell introduced the PowerCool Enclosed Rear Door Heat Exchanger (eRDHx), designed to capture 100% of IT-generated heat and reduce cooling costs by up to 60% compared to current solutions. This innovation supports water temperatures between 32°C and 36°C and enables increased data centre density, allowing organisations to deploy up to 16% more racks of dense compute without raising power consumption, and provides advanced leak detection and unified management features.
For high performance computing and AI, Dell's PowerEdge XE9785 and XE9785L servers will support AMD Instinct MI350 series GPUs, promising up to 35 times greater inferencing performance. Both liquid- and air-cooled versions will be available to further reduce facility cooling costs.
In terms of data management, Dell's AI Data Platform now includes updates designed to improve access to structured and unstructured data, with Project Lightning, a parallel file system, reported to deliver up to two times greater throughput than alternatives. Enhancements to the Data Lakehouse further streamline AI workflows for use cases like recommendation engines and semantic search, and the introduction of Linear Pluggable Optics aims to lower power use and boost networking efficiency.
Dr Paul Calleja, Director of the Cambridge Open Zettascale Lab and Research Computing Services at the University of Cambridge, commented: "We're excited to work with Dell to support our cutting-edge AI initiatives, and we expect Project Lightning to be a critical storage technology for our AI innovations."
Dell has also broadened its partner ecosystem to include on-premises deployments with platforms such as Cohere North, Google Gemini, Glean's Work AI platform and Meta's Llama Stack, as well as joint solutions with Mistral AI. The company is providing enhancements to its AI platform with AMD and Intel technologies, including upgraded networking, software stack improvements, container support and integration with Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerators.
Updates to the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA include new PowerEdge servers supporting up to 192 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs per standard configuration and up to 256 per Dell IR7000 rack with direct to chip liquid cooling. These advancements aim to simplify data centre integration, speed up rack-scale AI deployment and are reported to deliver up to four times faster large language model training compared to the previous generation.
The PowerEdge XE9712, featuring NVIDIA GB300 NVL72, targets efficiency at rack scale for training and is said to offer up to 50 times more inference output and five times improvement in throughput, with new PowerCool technology supporting power efficiency in high-demand environments. The company intends to support the NVIDIA Vera CPU and Vera Rubin platform in future server offerings.
In networking, Dell has extended its portfolio with new PowerSwitch and InfiniBand switches, deliver up to 800 Gbps of throughput, and are now supported by ProSupport and Deployment Services. Further software platform updates include direct availability of NVIDIA NIM, NeMo microservices and Blueprints, plus Red Hat OpenShift integration on the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA.
To streamline AI operations, Dell has introduced Managed Services for the AI Factory with NVIDIA, providing 24/7 monitoring, reporting, upgrades and patching for the stack, supported by Dell's technical teams.
Michael Dell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dell Technologies, said: "We're on a mission to bring AI to millions of customers around the world. Our job is to make AI more accessible. With the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA, enterprises can manage the entire AI lifecycle across use cases, from training to deployment, at any scale."
Jensen Huang, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, NVIDIA, added: "AI factories are the infrastructure of modern industry, generating intelligence to power work across healthcare, finance and manufacturing. With Dell Technologies, we're offering the broadest line of Blackwell AI systems to serve AI factories in clouds, enterprises and at the edge."
Jeff Clarke, Chief Operating Officer, Dell Technologies, stated: "It has been a non-stop year of innovating for enterprises, and we're not slowing down. We have introduced more than 200 updates to the Dell AI Factory since last year. Our latest AI advancements — from groundbreaking AI PCs to cutting-edge data centre solutions — are designed to help organisations of every size to seamlessly adopt AI, drive faster insights, improve efficiency and accelerate their results."
Christopher M. Sullivan, Director of Research and Academic Computing for the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, said: "We leverage the Dell AI Factory for our oceanic research at Oregon State University to revolutionise and address some of the planet's most critical challenges. Through advanced AI solutions, we're accelerating insights that empower global decision-makers to tackle climate change, safeguard marine ecosystems and drive meaningful progress for humanity."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Techday NZ
14 hours ago
- Techday NZ
Cloudera joins AI-RAN Alliance to boost AI in telecoms sector
Cloudera has joined the AI-RAN Alliance, a global consortium focused on integrating artificial intelligence into telecommunications infrastructure, with particular relevance for service providers in Australia and New Zealand. The AI-RAN Alliance, whose founding members include NVIDIA, also counts Dell, SoftBank, T-Mobile, KT and LG U+ among its participants. The group aims to address the integration of AI within current and emerging telecommunications networks and to standardise the use of AI for optimising shared infrastructure, accelerating edge AI application development, and providing reliable deployment models for AI in telecoms. Cloudera's entry into the alliance follows a period of growing interest among telecommunications providers in using AI to optimise network operations and reduce operational costs. Virtualisation and new infrastructure architectures are key drivers, and AI is seen as an important means of improving service efficiency and enabling new business opportunities for operators. The complexities associated with deploying AI at scale across distributed edge environments present significant challenges for the sector. Telecoms need to take an enterprise-wide approach to operationalise these technologies within the radio access network (RAN) if they are to unlock commercial benefits. As a member of the AI-RAN Alliance, Cloudera will participate in the 'Data for AI-RAN' working group, which is tasked with standardising data orchestration, large language model driven network automation, and hybrid-enabled MLOps across telecommunications and AI workloads. According to the company, this involvement will aim to align data and AI pipeline development with operational requirements, thereby supporting quicker innovation and the deployment of AI-native use cases. Cloudera will also support the Alliance's three stated objectives-AI-for-RAN, AI-and-RAN, and AI-on-RAN-and will work to accelerate the use of AI in real-world scenarios. Potential applications include service level agreement-driven network availability and real-time anomaly detection. The company plans to develop and evaluate reference architectures that telecoms operators can deploy in live environments, facilitating shorter development cycles and improving collaboration around model reusability. Another focus is demonstrating the use of Cloudera's platform for real-time decision-making at the network edge. This will involve enabling scalable preparation of training data and MLOps, as well as operationalising AI inference at scale, while maintaining governance and edge-to-core orchestration. Keir Garrett, Regional Vice President for Cloudera Australia and New Zealand, said, "Joining the AI-RAN Alliance enhances our ability to drive innovation and operational excellence for telecommunications providers across Australia and New Zealand. Leading telcos are already leveraging AI to optimise networks, improve engagement, and streamline operations, with edge computing enabling scalable transformation. Now, we're focused on guiding them through the next phase-unlocking greater value while future-proofing infrastructure. Just as smart highways enhance outdated roads, this shift ensures telcos meet growing user demand with speed, reliability, and adaptability-paving the way for the future of connectivity." Speaking about the company's contribution to the Alliance, Abhas Ricky, Chief Strategy Officer at Cloudera, commented, "Cloudera is proud to bring its data and AI expertise to the AI-RAN Alliance. The network is the heart of the telecom business, both in driving margin growth and in service transformation, and AI can unlock substantial value across those dimensions. Given our leadership in the domain - having powered data and AI automation strategies for hundreds of telecommunications providers around the world, we now look forward to accelerating innovation alongside fellow AI-RAN Alliance members and bringing our customers along. Our goal is to help define the data standards, orchestration models, and reference architectures that will power intelligent, adaptive, and AI-native networks of the future." Jemin Chung, Vice President Network Strategy at KT, said, "We are proud to collaborate with Cloudera and fellow AI-RAN Alliance members in the 'Data for AI-RAN' working group. As AI becomes increasingly central to next-generation networks, the ability to harness data securely and at scale will be a key differentiator. Through this initiative, we look forward to defining best practices that enable AI-centric RAN evolution and improve operational intelligence." Dr Alex Jinsung Choi, Principal Fellow, SoftBank's Research Institute of Advanced Technology, and Chair of the AI-RAN Alliance, said, "Cloudera is an incredible addition to the AI-RAN Alliance, which has grown rapidly as demand for improved AI access and success increases across the industry. The company's leadership in data and AI, combined with their extensive telecommunications footprint, will play a vital role in advancing our shared vision of intelligent, AI-native networks."
Techday NZ
a day ago
- Techday NZ
Cloudera joins AI-RAN Alliance to boost telecom AI networks
Cloudera has joined the AI-RAN Alliance, a consortium of telecom and artificial intelligence companies working towards integrating AI with next-generation telecommunications infrastructure. The AI-RAN Alliance includes companies such as Dell, NVIDIA, SoftBank, and T-Mobile, and focuses on embedding AI into telecommunications systems with a particular emphasis on radio access networks (RAN). The group aims to address challenges such as standardising AI integration, enabling shared AI infrastructure, and developing applications that support the evolution of telecom networks. Telecommunications companies worldwide are increasingly exploring virtualisation and modern infrastructures to optimise network operations and reduce costs. By incorporating AI, these providers seek to enhance network service efficiency and open new avenues for service innovation. However, deploying AI at scale in distributed edge environments and across radio access networks presents a range of technical and operational complexities. Cloudera's addition to the consortium is intended to bolster efforts to manage real-time data, advance edge AI capabilities, and develop hybrid machine learning operations (MLOps) throughout telecom environments. The company brings experience in managing data across hybrid and mixed infrastructure, which the alliance hopes will advance real-time data utilization and edge-to-core orchestration. Within the alliance, Cloudera will participate in the 'Data for AI-RAN' working group. This initiative aims to develop standardised data orchestration frameworks, facilitate automation of network operations using large language models, and implement hybrid-enabled MLOps across telecom and AI workloads. Cloudera's expertise is expected to help align data and AI workflows with the operational requirements of telecom providers and to promote quicker innovation and deployment of AI-native solutions. The company will also contribute to the alliance's three main objectives: AI-for-RAN, AI-and-RAN, and AI-on-RAN. These aims relate to applying AI directly to RAN operations, integrating AI with RAN functions, and deploying AI applications on RAN platforms, respectively. As part of its role, Cloudera plans to help create reference architectures, validate them in live network environments, and encourage model reuse among consortium members. Cloudera's technology will be used to demonstrate real-time decision-making capabilities at the network edge. This includes providing support for scalable preparation of training data, facilitating MLOps, and operationalising AI inference while maintaining governance, visibility, and coordinated orchestration from network edge to core. Abhas Ricky, Chief Strategy Officer at Cloudera, said, "Cloudera is proud to bring its data and AI expertise to the AI-RAN Alliance. The network is the heart of the telecom business, both in driving margin growth and in service transformation, and AI can unlock substantial value across those dimensions. Given our leadership in the domain - having powered data and AI automation strategies for hundreds of telecommunications providers around the world, we now look forward to accelerating innovation alongside fellow AI-RAN Alliance members, and bringing our customers along. Our goal is to help define the data standards, orchestration models, and reference architectures that will power intelligent, adaptive, and AI-native networks of the future." Jemin Chung, Vice President Network Strategy at KT, commented, "We are proud to collaborate with Cloudera and fellow AI-RAN Alliance members in the 'Data for AI-RAN' working group. As AI becomes increasingly central to next-generation networks, the ability to harness data securely and at scale will be a key differentiator. Through this initiative, we look forward to defining best practices that enable AI-centric RAN evolution and improve operational intelligence." Dr. Alex Jinsung Choi, Principal Fellow, SoftBank's Research Institute of Advanced Technology and Chair of the AI-RAN Alliance, said, "Cloudera is an incredible addition to the AI-RAN Alliance, which has grown rapidly as demand for improved AI access and success increases across the industry. The company's leadership in data and AI, combined with their extensive telecommunications footprint, will play a vital role in advancing our shared vision of intelligent, AI-native networks."
Techday NZ
3 days ago
- Techday NZ
Illumio & NVIDIA partner to boost Zero Trust for critical infrastructure
Illumio has announced a strategic integration with NVIDIA aimed at helping organisations secure critical infrastructure and improve their Zero Trust maturity by bringing together breach containment capabilities with the NVIDIA BlueField networking platform. The integration allows critical infrastructure organisations to deploy Illumio directly on NVIDIA BlueField, giving security teams comprehensive visibility into network dependencies and enabling precise security controls at both the host and network levels. With this collaboration, organisations can benefit from deep visibility into network traffic and enhanced protection of critical assets. The solution leverages NVIDIA BlueField Data Processing Units (DPUs) as enforcement points for Zero Trust, thereby simplifying the protection of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) systems while helping organisations ensure operational continuity and meet compliance standards. In the future, Illumio's platform will also allow organisations to use its AI-driven insights to identify risks and attacker behaviours, enabling rapid threat detection within Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and OT environments. The collaboration is positioned against the backdrop of growing cyber threats and heightened global regulatory expectations for critical infrastructure. According to Illumio, the integration delivers several key benefits, including enhanced visibility and policy enforcement for traffic within and between IT and OT networks. Using Illumio's labelling architecture, organisations can visualise all traffic to and from OT systems equipped with NVIDIA BlueField to better understand system communications across the infrastructure. The integration also promises rapid deployment of Zero Trust segmentation in OT and ICS settings, designed to reduce complexity, limit lateral movement risks, and contain potential breaches. Additional benefits cited include improved compliance and operational resilience, as organisations can identify assets, monitor traffic, and enforce security policies across converged IT/OT environments without impacting system performance or requiring major architectural changes. The combined solution is intended to provide consistent and reliable microsegmentation across varying environments while maintaining uptime and resilience. Todd Palmer, Senior Vice President of Global Partner Sales and Alliances at Illumio, stated, "The integration between Illumio and NVIDIA will significantly strengthen security for cyber-physical systems and bring us closer to achieving our vision of a world without cyber disasters. Critical infrastructure is under threat like never before. Together with NVIDIA, we're making it easier for organizations to protect critical systems, ensure operational continuity, and meet stringent compliance requirements in an increasingly complex landscape." Ofir Arkin, Senior Distinguished Architect for Cybersecurity at NVIDIA, said, "Cyber risks against critical infrastructure are more sophisticated and disruptive than ever, and lateral movement remains a key factor in successful attacks. Integrating the Illumio and NVIDIA BlueField platforms enables organizations to enhance visibility and control across IT and OT networks, reduce risk, contain attacks, and strengthen operational resilience." Illumio was named as a leader in The Forrester Wave: Microsegmentation Solutions, Q3 2024. The company is part of the NVIDIA partner ecosystem, offering a platform built on an AI security graph that includes Illumio Insights for AI-driven cloud detection and response, as well as Illumio Segmentation aimed at facilitating Zero Trust strategies. The partnership targets organisations responsible for critical infrastructure, which face increasing operational risks from sophisticated cyber threats. The converged approach to IT and OT security seeks to enable these organisations to identify risks, contain threats before they spread, and comply with regulatory requirements across complex operational environments.
