Artificial intelligence is driving the next wave of business transformation. But unlocking its full value depends on a data platform designed for AI — not retrofitted for it. That’s why the Dell AI Data Platform, recently named a 2025 CRN Tech Innovator, is setting the industry standard.
In conversations with customers building AI pipelines, one theme is clear: success hinges not just on raw performance, but on choosing the right architectural foundation — starting with storage. Dell PowerScale has always been about unifying storage into a single, simple, enterprise-proven system. That DNA has evolved to enable true parallel performance – throughput and concurrency at scale – making it the foundation for AI and HPC workloads. And we believe the future of AI platforms isn’t about collapsing everything into the storage layer — it’s about building on top of storage that’s engineered to handle AI workloads today.
Where competitors fall short
In an attempt to simplify AI infrastructure, some vendors are collapsing the stack — embedding data services, indexing, metadata engines, and even inference pipelines directly into the storage layer.
On paper, it sounds elegant: one box, one vendor, one interface. But in practice? It’s a bottleneck disguised as simplicity. First, storage was designed to move data. When you layer complex AI services on top of already burdened CPUs, performance suffers. The result is resource contention that slows everything down. Additionally, when data engines are embedded inside storage, innovation is limited to the firmware release cycle. Adopting a new vector database, LLM framework, or analytics engine? You’re stuck waiting for the next storage firmware update.
What enterprises need
If collapsing the stack limits innovation, then the path forward is clear: separate the layers and optimize each one. Enterprises need an AI data platform that is modular by design — where storage performs as it should, data engines operate where it makes sense, and AI frameworks have the freedom to evolve.
At the foundation is high-performance, scale-out storage — not overloaded with orchestration duties, but laser-focused on delivering data to GPUs without delay.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Independent scalability of storage and compute — so you don’t overprovision one to keep up with the other.
- Open integration with best-of-breed tools — enabling rapid adoption of new engines, formats, and AI frameworks without forklift upgrades.
- Built-in governance and security at the storage layer — ensuring your data is always protected, compliant, and AI-ready.
Dell’s approach gives enterprises the ability to optimize each layer of the AI stack on their terms, not within the limits of a single appliance. Why trust your storage vendor to double as your AI software vendor? The market is moving too fast for AI innovation to be a side business. We’ve taken a different approach — partnering with leading ISVs and AI pioneers such as Elastic and Starburst so customers can adopt the best tools available while relying on PowerScale as the foundation that keeps data moving.
The architecture behind the Dell AI Data Platform
The Dell AI Data Platform is built on three core principles: Open, Optimized, and Secure. Its modular architecture separates key functions into a purpose-built stack designed to scale independently and integrate with best-of-breed tools.
Storage engines: parallel performance
AI pipelines rely on fast, scalable data access — and that starts with storage engineered to keep pace with modern compute. Dell PowerScale plays a critical role, delivering high-throughput, low-latency performance that ensures GPUs stay fully utilized and never wait on data. With proven performance in 100PB+ environments, PowerScale enables rapid access across massive, diverse datasets — from training inputs to inference-ready knowledge bases.
Here are a few key highlights:
- Unified Architecture
Manage storage as one system across all nodes. Simplify operations, eliminate silos and achieve exabyte-scale in a single namespace.
- Parallel Performance
Achieve simultaneous throughput and concurrent I/O for AI, HPC, and data-intensive workloads. PowerScale transforms scale-out storage into a true parallel file system.
- Enterprise Trust
Enterprise-grade security, multiprotocol access, and proven resilience ensure you can run mission-critical workloads with confidence – from day one to exascale.
Data engines: open formats, faster insights
Dell’s data engines unify all data types using open formats like Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake, enabling 3–5x faster queries and seamless integration with analytics and AI frameworks. Our partnership with Elastic extends federated search, helping enterprises improve AI models with live data.
Together, these layers provide a scalable, flexible foundation for AI — without the limitations of collapsed stacks or retrofitted legacy storage that can’t keep up with CPU loads.
Strategic partnership: Dell + NVIDIA
Another core differentiator is Dell’s deep partnership with NVIDIA. Together, we combine Dell’s scale, resilience, and openness with NVIDIA’s software stack.
This collaboration enables enterprises to run AI on their own data with capabilities like retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector search, and agentic AI frameworks powered by NeMo, CuVS, and Nemotron. With PowerScale validation across NVIDIA’s Cloud Partner program and SuperPOD, and integration with GPU-accelerated Spark using RAPIDS, enterprises gain a seamless bridge between their AI models and their data foundation.
Together, Dell and NVIDIA deliver the fastest path from AI experimentation to enterprise-scale production (Read next: Dell PowerScale and NVIDIA: Tackling the AI Data Challenge).
Real-world impact: GenAI-powered customer service
Customer service is a clear example of how the Dell AI Data Platform is enabling generative AI in production today. By combining high-throughput storage with open, AI-ready data engines, enterprises are transforming how support is delivered.
- Auto-generate and update FAQs, manuals, and troubleshooting guides.
- Deliver real-time, conversational support for setup, configuration, and diagnostics.
- Escalate complex issues with full context, enabling faster, more accurate resolution.
Each layer of the platform plays a critical role:
- Storage engines persist knowledge bases, model versions, and conversation logs at scale — ensuring security, compliance, and performance for live inferencing.
- Data engines index and enrich this data — enabling federated search, structured queries, and grounding for enterprise-specific LLMs.
The result is a self-improving, AI-driven support experience that reduces resolution time, lowers costs, and improves customer satisfaction — delivering measurable ROI.
Where enterprises go from here
The AI landscape is evolving quickly, and the Dell AI Data Platform is engineered to stay ahead of that curve. Its modular, open, and secure design delivers parallel file performance, enterprise-scale flexibility, and measurable business outcomes — from reimagining customer service with AI to accelerating analytics pipelines. Recognized as a 2025 CRN Tech Innovator, Dell is not just participating in the AI era; we are leading it.
Ready to turn your data into results? Let’s schedule a workshop to explore how Dell’s AI Data Platform can support your specific use case.
