Dell education GM Bill Rodriguez is the focus of a question and answer session recently posted to CNET. The interviewer focused his questions primarily on Dell’s newfound dominant position in education, and how it plans to stay that way — the company overtook Apple last year to become the number one supplier of computers to the educational market.
Rodriguez said that Dell has working in its favor its status as a Windows-compatible product.
“When you look at the professional world, it’s primarily a Wintel world. You don’t walk into many corporations and find Macs spread all over the place. For the most part, the majority of apps and computers you find in the commercial environment are on the Wintel platform. There’s also the desire and concern of the superintendents and technology coordinators in the districts who want to make sure they are preparing their students for the 21st century,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez also discounts Apple’s success with its new iBook in the educational market.
“The thing I find interesting is that when (Apple CEO Steve) Jobs says this will get them back into a leadership position in education, I don’t know what that means. Roughly 14 percent of education market (dollars) is spent on notebooks. So, given that fact, even if he was the share leader in that space, I don’t know how that gets them back into the leadership position,” said Rodriguez.
One thing that Rodriguez won’t answer, however, is the interviewer’s pointed question about whether or not Apple has “lost its edge.” Rodriguez paints a rosy picture of Dell’s relationships with its customers, but dodges the question twice.