Dell is dead, long live Dell.

Dell Plans to Sell Factories In Effort to Cut Costs – WSJ.com

This article really represents the ending of Dell’s old model and the evolution of what one might call “Dell 2.0.   Dell’s original business model, or at least the one that allowed it to rise as a computing powerhouse, was built on a hyper-efficient supply chain that allowed it to produce desktops better and more cheaply than their rivals (we’ll discuss this in detail).  Unfortunately, the advantage only applied to desktops (not laptops) and Dell has seen its competitive advantage deteriorate quickly in recent years.  To Dell’s credit, they have sought to innovate rapidly, exploring a number of new approaches and markets.  The selling of Dell’s factories underscores the fact that the future of Dell rests on its new innovations, not its old competencies.  The lesson for managers here is that IT can often provide a competitive advantage for many years, but that either 1) your competitors will eventually copy your technology or 2) the market will change making your advantage less valuable.  The latter happened to Dell.  It will be interesting to see where Dell goes in coming years.