If you work at Dell, get ready for big changes in 2026.
The company is planning to roll out standardized processes across its operations and launch a single enterprise platform on May 3, Jeff Clarke, Dell’s chief operating officer and vice chairman, said in a memo sent to the workforce on Tuesday, and seen by Business Insider.
In the memo, Clarke said the changes constitute the “biggest transformation in company history.”
The modernization push, which the company has called One Dell Way, will “connect our data, break down silos, streamline our software applications and give us the foundation to work as one connected company,” said Clarke.
It will replace Dell’s existing sprawl of applications, servers, and databases, and deliver “seamless data flow, fewer repetitive tasks, faster decision-making and more time for work that drives real impact,” Clarke said.
The vice chairman, who has recently taken a more active role in Dell’s day-to-day operations, said that the changes are a key enabler of Dell’s modernization.
For years, the company has built multiple variations of tools used for fundamental processes, such as developing and selling, Clarke said in the memo.
“That won’t cut it in an AI-driven world. We need one way —simplified, standardized, and automated — so we can be more competitive and serve our customers better,” Clarke said.
Simplifying the underlying infrastructure is a crucial part of unlocking AI’s future potential: no matter how much companies spend on flashy AI tools, they won’t deliver speed or scale if the data behind them remains fragmented.
One Dell Way is “foundational to our success in an AI-driven world,” Clarke said.
A company spokesperson told Business Insider that “One Dell Way is a transformation initiative designed to simplify processes, standardize systems, and use automation to create a more connected and efficient organization.”
‘Be ready’
Rather than a gradual transition, the new operating system will kick in on a single crossover date, May 3, for Dell’s PC business — known as the CSG division — as well as for finance, supply chain, marketing, sales, revenue operations, services, and HR operations, according to Clarke’s memo.
Dell’s ISG division, which handles its cloud offering, data servers, and other AI infrastructure, will follow in August, Clarke said.
The vice chairman told employees to “be ready” for the change.
“Training is critical,” and should be a priority once training opens on February 3, Clarke said.
Business Insider previously reported that Dell has been running a secretive, multi-year internal project, codenamed “Maverick,” for which staff had signed NDAs to work on. It was initially scheduled to launch for parts of the company in February 2026, but was pushed back to May.
Dell’s current modernization drive comes 42 years after Michael Dell founded the company as a freshman at the University of Texas.
Dell has since expanded into AI and cloud infrastructure, gone private, and then returned to public markets, and pulled off the second-largest tech merger ever with its $67 billion purchase of EMC in 2016 — but, as Clarke said in the memo, the coming changes are Dell’s biggest shake-up yet.
Read Clarke’s full memo to Dell employees here:
Team,
Our industry is moving faster than ever, and we’ve spent the past two years modernizing how Dell works so we can move even faster—simplifying and standardizing processes, eliminating inefficiencies and improving our tools and applications. That’s
Now we’re taking the next major step in this journey: rolling out standardized processes and an enterprise platform that will connect our data, break down silos, streamline our software applications and give us the foundation to work as one connected company.
We’ll begin operating in this new way on May 3, starting with CSG, Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing, Sales, RevOps, Services and HR operations. ISG follows in August.
For years, our strong functional orientation meant we built many variations of fundamental processes—multiple ways to develop, multiple ways to market, multiple ways to sell, multiple ways to service.
That won’t cut it in an AI-driven world. We need one way—simplified, standardized and automated—so we can be more competitive and serve our customers better.
This requires a mindset shift, from thinking and operating function-first to company-first. In some cases, that may mean we may make a choice that isn’t optimal for a particular function, but it speeds up decision-making or improves quality for the company as a whole. That’s the trade-off, and it’s the right one. We’re optimizing for Dell, not for individual functions.
What’s Changing
Standardized processes and an enterprise platform mean no more workarounds, no holding onto old ways of working. Instead, we get seamless data flow, fewer repetitive tasks, faster decision-making and more time for work that drives real impact.
This is a comprehensive change, not a gradual transition. Once we start operating in the new way on May 3, we won’t go back.
The degree of change will vary by team and role. Some of you will experience significant shifts in how you work day-to-day. For others, the changes will be minimal. But all of us need to understand what’s happening and support each other through it.
If your work spans both CSG and ISG, you’ll navigate the new processes and applications for CSG, and legacy systems for ISG until August. You’ll learn more in training.
What This Takes
Learning new systems and new ways of working isn’t easy, especially when you’re already moving fast. Here’s my ask of you:
- Stay curious and open-minded as you learn new ways of working.
- Disrupt yourself. Break free from the old way of doing things.
- Embrace standardization. It makes us faster and better.
- Operate with a sense of urgency. Speed matters more than ever in the AI era.
Be Ready
Training is critical. You can’t operate in the new system without it, no exceptions. Training opens February 3, and you’ll get an email that day with your personalized information. Please make it a priority.
This is the biggest transformation in company history. I know there will be challenges, and that’s OK—we’re here to support you and work through this together. Your leader will keep you updated as we move through training and launch.
This is foundational to our success in an AI-driven world, and One Dell Way is how we get there—working as one company, with one set of processes, focused on what matters most.
Let’s lean in, learn as we go and build a better company together.
Jeff
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