Dell names Buchsbaum its federal division chief
Connecting state and local government leaders
Dell Computer Corp., the top General Services Administration Information Technology Schedule contractor in fiscal 1998, has named Thomas Buchsbaum vice president and general manager of its federal division. Buchsbaum replaced Robert McFarland, who became vice president of sales for enterprise accounts. Buchsbaum had served as vice president of education for Dell.
Dell Computer Corp., the top General Services Administration Information Technology
Schedule contractor in fiscal 1998, has named Thomas Buchsbaum vice president and general
manager of its federal division.
Buchsbaum replaced Robert McFarland, who became vice president of sales for enterprise
accounts. Buchsbaum had served as vice president of education for Dell.
Previously he was a vice president and general manager at Zenith Data Systems Corp.,
which sold more than 1 million computers to government agencies before its acquisition by
Packard Bell NEC Inc. of Sacramento, Calif., company officials said.
Dell plans to continue streamlining its online ordering and will set up what it calls
Premier Pages for individual agencies, Buchsbaum said.
Dell has claimed $14 million in daily product sales via the Web worldwide, but company
officials would not disclose how much of that comes from U.S. federal agencies. Some
observers said that the government bought more than $1 billion worth of PCs and servers
from Dell last year.
Buchsbaum said every machine has an order for it before its
configured, and the company will do custom software loading and component
installation. It also offers Environmental Protection Agency-approved disposal for
obsolete machines.
Dells semiruggedized Latitude notebook PCs are not designed to be run over
by a tank, Buchsbaum said, but can withstand extreme temperatures and rough
treatment.
Jodi Weinbrandt, Dells director of federal marketing, said one Defense Department
user wrote the company that his Latitude had been dropped from a helicopter, lost in a
desert and chewed by an animal, but it still booted up after recovery.
The Latitude LT, Dells 3-pound notebook, has been popular among DOD users who
travel, Weinbrandt said.
Dell has added Hewlett-Packard Co. peripherals, printers, scanners and supplies to its
GSA schedule contract and will continue to sell printers from Lexmark International Inc.
of Lexington, Ky., on schedule, Weinbrandt said.