Mr. Ertel, Dell EMC is known for classic computers for the office environment, among other things. How did you come to focus on the highly competitive industrial PC market?
Ertel: First of all, it should be noted that we have been very successful in the OEM solutions sector with Dell OEM for 15 years. Globally, we already support more than 4000 customers in 40 different vertical markets with the integration of hardware, software and services into their solutions. In the OEM sector in particular, we have had a special focus for many years on the use of computers in plant and mechanical engineering - with durable products adapted to the needs of the store floor, concepts for the supply chain as well as service and support. For example, our Optiplex XE and its successor - the XE2 - were and are robust standard PC systems for industrial environments with a service life of three and a half years and a technical design for 24/7 operation as well as operation at up to 45°C or a humidity of up to 80%. With the introduction of the fanless embedded box PC line in March 2016, we closed the gap to the embedded world.

How do you differentiate yourself from the competition?
Ertel: Instead of focusing on diversification and small series, our approach is to offer our customers large quantities at attractive and competitive conditions, while maintaining the highest quality. Another decisive advantage is the short delivery times, similar to the standard Dell systems. On the other hand, we do not have a minimum order quantity. Pure industrial PC manufacturers cannot offer this service, or only to a very limited extent. Dell EMC offers the industry's most comprehensive IT portfolio, global availability and worldwide service with a well-known high quality standard. We also offer cross-platform functionality to other Dell products, for example for manageability and security functions.

And how can the computers keep up from a technical perspective?
Ertel: We attach great importance to the technical requirements of an industrial PC in the production environment. Our two embedded products, the Embedded Box PC 3000 and the Embedded Box PC 5000, are completely fanless systems with energy-efficient, power-saving sixth-generation Intel processors. Both models offer typical industrial interfaces such as RS232/422/485 and 2xGb LAN, and the 5000 model also offers expansion options via PCI/PCIe slots. Options for WLAN/BT and WWAN further expand the networking possibilities. Also important are the diverse mounting options for control cabinets or DIN rails as well as a consistent design for continuous operation from 0 to 50 °C. The long-term availability of five years with guaranteed component stability and the option of replacing the Dell name with the customer's logo via debranding or rebranding are also crucial for industry.

In the production environment, the term edge computing is becoming increasingly common and cloud connectivity is likely to become essential in the future. How are you as a manufacturer responding to this trend?
Ertel : Alongside the Embedded Box PCs launched in May last year, we have been offering various Edge Gateways since December 2015. The Dell Edge Gateways of the 5000 and 5100 series are exactly the interface to the terms you mentioned, such as edge or fog computing and cloud connectivity. We are continuously expanding the line of Edge Gateways to make them available to smaller companies with smaller budgets.

In contrast to embedded PCs, an edge gateway project always starts with a solution-oriented approach. We deliver many of these solutions as part of our global IoT partner program. Members of this program include both national 'Registered' and 'Preferred' partners specializing in industrial automation, such as Azeti, Relayr or MPDV, as well as international 'Premier' partners, such as OSISoft, SAP or ThingWorx.