Dell offers online software guide

Dell has unveiled an online product information service aimed at high-end corporate customers.

Direct Effect informs customers which software has been certified as compatible with its machines. A link to DellWare - the company's third party software and peripheral sales site - will also be available. Dell hopes the service, run in association with Novell, Oracle and Autodesk, will boost sales of its corporate machines.

Customers will incur charges for any additional software they load, whilst a percentage of the revenue on some applications will be kept. Discounts will be offered to software developers using Dell systems for development or demonstration purposes.

Direct Effect is another attempt by Dell to move further into the enterprise arena: it claims its corporate ancillary services and products, and 'application solution centres' have already proved successful. Approximately $6m a day is generated by the Dell Web site.