Driven by a growing emphasis on data sovereignty and the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, US tech major Dell Technologies is significantly expanding its domestic manufacturing footprint in India, with a majority of its servers now being produced locally, a senior company executive said on Tuesday.
Venkat Sitaram, Senior Director and Country Head, Infrastructure Solutions Group, India, Dell Technologies, said that while the locally manufactured products primarily serve the Indian market, the company will be open to exporting when the need arises.
"Dell Technologies has been manufacturing in India for 18+ years, and we continue to work closely with the Indian Government. We have been a part of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware since the first phase, and we are currently participating in PLI 2.0 for laptops. India plays a key role in manufacturing of Dell Infrastructure Solutions Group portfolio products including PowerEdge, PowerMax, PowerStore and Data Protection solutions."
The push for local infrastructure is being heavily influenced by Indian enterprises re-evaluating their cloud strategies. He noted a distinct shift towards hybrid architectures, where companies are choosing to keep sensitive and critical workloads on-premises rather than relying entirely on public clouds.
The demand for robust local infrastructure is further accelerated by the integration of AI into core business strategies, led by sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), telecommunications, healthcare, and government.
Addressing concerns about advanced AI systems replacing traditional IT and back-office jobs, Sitaram maintained a positive outlook for the tech job market.
"It's not replacing; it's in fact creating more and more... It's having a multiplier effect", he said, noting a rapid emergence of niche technical roles and a growing focus on skill-building among institutions and enterprises.
Dell on Tuesday announced the India launch of PowerStore Elite, a new-generation data platform.
The on-premises storage solution is designed to support complex AI workflows while ensuring that enterprise data remains secure within India's borders.
Sitaram described the platform as a "single point solution" capable of handling both legacy and modern AI workloads.
Alongside PowerStore Elite, the company also introduced a broader portfolio of AI infrastructure. This includes 'Dell Cyber Detect' for AI-powered ransomware detection at the storage layer and 'Dell PowerRack', an integrated rack-scale AI system.
