Dell joins the health care discussion

About four years ago, "Dell Hell" entered the lexicon as both shorthand for the firestorm that blogger Jeff Jarvis whipped out by trashing Dell's customer service publicly, and metaphor for big corporations that didn't "get" the new power of social media.

Since then, Dell has made an enormous effort to take social media seriously, and has launched all manner of initiatives to listen to customers online, make the company more transparent, and take a more human and collaborative approach to doing business. Jarvis summarizes Dell's transformation nicely in his new book, What Would Google Do? (a great and provocative read, by the way, if you haven't yet picked it up).

Today's announcement that Dell is launching a new IdeaStorm specifically for health care and life sciences is a perfect example of why the company is so effective now in the social economy.

"As Dell participates in HIMSS this week, one of the largest global healthcare events, we are well aware that there are specific technology needs in the heathcare industry. IdeaStorm for Healthcare and Life Sciences has been created to start the conversation on what Dell can do to address those technology needs and simplify the healthcare IT solutions...Through collaboration, we can all determine the best ways to reduce complexity, save time and reduce costs." 

Self-serving? Of course. Healthcare IT is a huge market and Dell wants as big a piece of it as possible.

But it's enlightened self-interest in a participatory world, and that's what makes it worth comment.

• It's about a big issue affecting millions (billions) of people
• It's a hard issue: how IT can contribute to health care solutions
• It's humble: Dell does not pretend to have all the answers
• It's about facilitating conversation and being open to ideas from any direction
• It's credible, given the background of Dell's substantial efforts to create a more open and collaborative organization 

So kudos to Dell for another strong step forward. For companies looking to move ahead with social media and innovation, Dell has shown again why it's one of the leaders worth studying. 

What do you think?

Comments

[computers]

I would say this is a great move in fact Joining Health Care Discussion Dell can contribute a lot for health sector.

[Used computers]

its obvious that by health discussion a lot of people become aware many health tips.DelL health discussion is very great and knowledgeable....i like it.

[Cheap Computers]

Now Dell is engaged with social media quite superbly and focusing on customer caring......
http://www.electrocomputerwarehouse.com

[Cheap Computers]

[...]great work by Dell to joins the health care discussion [...]
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[cheap computers]

As Dell participates in HIMSS this week, one of the largest global healthcare events, we are well aware that there are specific technology needs in the heathcare industry.