Where is that likely to be?

It could be in any number of locations around the world - Cyberjaya [in Malaysia] and Guadalajara, Mexico, are the two that we've started with. But if you recall, Dell has 10,000 people who provide tech support to our commercial customers. So we can take that initial triage of your problem, solve it as best as we can without ever talking to you or having to involve you in that problem, and then transfer the ownership of that problem to somebody in your country who speaks in the dialect of your choice to help you with the remaining issues that you do have to be involved in.

Where does power management fit into your plan?

I think it's something that will have to evolve. It's not something we have the tools in place for today. There are a few [services] that we provide through partners that I think have some interesting promise, but nothing that's materialized to turn into an IT-as-a-service type platform at this point.

Remote management tends to raise concerns about vendors mucking around inside users' systems. What's your response to a prospective customer who is antsy about opening its systems kimono to Dell?

The [service] will be fully certified around SAS 70 [auditing standards] and SOX. We also intend to assure compliance around HIPAA and [the Basel banking-standards accords]. Clearly, security is an important element, and the Everdream platform and ITIL processes enable multiple layers of security.

I understand you're currently piloting the service in about a dozen companies. When will you launch it commercially?

We think we're going to launch it in the Americas by mid-year, and we think we'll be in Asia and in Europe by the end of the year.

What will the pricing model be?

We don't know yet. We're working these questions in the pilot and in preparation for launch.

Will the pricing model vary in different markets worldwide?

We will clearly drive to global consistency in delivery. The consistency assures quality and a leveraged supply chain, which brings value to customers.

A couple of weeks ago, Michael Dell told financial analysts that most of your growth going forward is going to be outside of the U.S. Will you focus on Brazil, Russia, India and China, the so-called BRIC countries?

We see tremendous growth opportunities for the company in the emerging markets - the often-written-about next billion users. It's the BRIC countries and beyond. It's the Malaysias, the Vietnams, the rest of Eastern Europe. We see terrific growth there already. [But] we think we got off to a little bit too late of a start in some of those areas, and we've got some ground to make up.

What obstacles are you facing? Getting the right infrastructure in place, getting the right management teams in place, making sure we have the right distribution partners on the team.

Does your reference to distribution partners mean you don't see Dell's direct model being effective in those markets?

In some markets, it's exceptionally effective - it's very effective for western India, as an example. In other markets, it's simply not enough. In fact, if you get out into the western regions of China, there aren't enough computers for people to go online in order to be able to buy a computer. So having alternative distribution methods, like we've done in retail in the consumer space, is an incredibly important part of our growth strategy.