Fostering innovation at scale

How Dell Technologies continues to advance after decades in the business

When Dell Technologies began planning the 25th edition of its premier business laptop, the Dell Latitude series, the company’s engineers were given a substantial challenge: Enhance the Latitude’s design and performance while also advancing Dell’s global sustainability goals. After months of R&D, including tests of more than 200 material combinations, the team delivered. The silver jubilee edition is lighter, stronger, and boasts substantially more reclaimed content, including a new reclaimed carbon-fiber technology that uses waste from the aerospace industry.

“Twenty years ago, did any of our engineers or designers say, ‘I’m going to build a Latitude from recycled carbon fiber?’ Probably not,” says JJ Davis, senior vice president for global communications at Dell, which was named one of Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. “But they’re given permission to take risks and fail fast and learn from that process in a way that allows us to deliver the solutions customers want.”