Dell advances AI Data Platform to unify & accelerate enterprise AI

Dell has unveiled advancements to its AI Data Platform aimed at enabling enterprises to turn distributed and siloed data into more reliable and faster AI outcomes.

Data management focus

As AI adoption within enterprises continues to rise and data volumes increase, organisations face a growing need to convert distributed and unstructured data into actionable insights securely and efficiently.

The Dell AI Data Platform is structured as a modular system that helps to bridge gaps between data silos and provides the flexibility required for AI workloads, including training, fine-tuning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and inferencing efforts.

A core part of the Dell AI Factory, the platform is integrated with the NVIDIA AI Data Platform reference design and is comprised of four main components: storage engines, data engines, built-in cyber resiliency, and data management services. Dell states that these building blocks are intended to create a scalable foundation for AI-driven objectives in enterprise environments.

Storage engine enhancements

Dell PowerScale and Dell ObjectScale form the storage engine layer of the Dell AI Data Platform. According to Dell, PowerScale delivers network-attached storage (NAS) with a focus on performance and scalability for AI applications.

The introduction of NVIDIA GB200 and GB300 NVL72 integration, alongside new software updates, aims to simplify performance management at scale while securing compatibility across a wide application stack. PowerScale F710 has achieved NVIDIA Cloud Partner certification and reportedly provides significant improvements in density and efficiency, including up to 5 times less rack space, 88% fewer network switches, and as much as 72% lower power consumption compared to competing solutions.

ObjectScale provides a high-performing, scalable S3-native object storage deployment.

ObjectScale is offered either as an appliance or as a software-defined option on Dell's PowerEdge servers, with performance claims of being up to 8 times faster than previous-generation all-flash object storage. Upcoming features, including S3 over RDMA, are slated to provide up to 230% higher throughput and 80% lower latency, while CPU usage is expected to drop by up to 98%. Additional improvements focus on small-object handling and better integration with Amazon Web Services S3, including enhancements to bucket-level compression.

Expanding data engines

Dell is extending the capabilities of its data engines, key tools in organising, querying, and activating enterprise data for AI. Developments here are the product of collaborations with NVIDIA, Elastic, and Starburst.

A newly introduced Data Search Engine, created with Elastic, aims to accelerate decision-making by enabling conversational querying of business data.

Designed for uses such as semantic search and RAG, it integrates with MetadataIQ data discovery, allowing search and analysis of billions of files across PowerScale and ObjectScale. Developers are now able to build more efficient and responsive RAG applications using the engine's capabilities.

Meanwhile, a new Data Analytics Engine developed in partnership with Starburst allows for the seamless querying of data across multiple platforms, including spreadsheets, databases, cloud warehouses, and data lakehouses.

The new Agentic Layer in the Analytics Engine uses large language models (LLMs) to automate documentation, generate insights, and embed AI within SQL workflows. It offers integrated access to vector stores for various search tasks, and provides monitoring and governance tools for enterprise AI deployments.

An integration with NVIDIA cuVS is set to deliver enhanced vector search performance and allow for turnkey, GPU-accelerated hybrid search in enterprise settings, all with on-premises control for IT teams. The intent is to offer a fully integrated solution that can scale to meet expanding enterprise search requirements.

Industry perspectives

"AI is transforming industries and its success depends on unlocking the full potential of enterprise data. The Dell AI Data Platform is purpose-built to simplify data complexity, unify pipelines and deliver AI-ready data at scale," said Arthur Lewis, President, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies. "From real-time diagnostics in healthcare to predictive maintenance in manufacturing, Dell Technologies and trusted collaborators like NVIDIA, Elastic and Starburst are empowering industries to move from AI pilots to production faster and with reduced risk."

Justin Boitano, Vice President of Enterprise AI Products at NVIDIA, said, "AI finally gives enterprises a way to transform fragmented data into a strategic, scalable asset. Accelerated by NVIDIA AI, the Dell AI Data Platform delivers a new generation of intelligent storage that is designed to understand the meaning behind the data it holds."

Ajay Nair, General Manager of Platform Engineering at Elastic, commented, "Data holds the key to incredible breakthroughs and our collaboration with Dell Technologies makes it easier than ever to unlock that potential. By fully integrating the Elasticsearch context engineering platform into the Dell AI Data Platform, we are providing a powerful engine for search and discovery. This collaboration empowers organisations to accelerate everything from semantic search to complex generative AI pipelines, turning large amounts of unstructured data into critical insight."

Justin Borgman, CEO of Starburst, stated, "Access to all of your data is the foundation for enterprise AI success. Our expanded collaboration with Dell Technologies unites Starburst's data federation with Dell's AI Data Platform, giving organisations the ability to unlock insights from anywhere and accelerate their path to real-world AI outcomes."

Remi Duquette, Vice President of Industrial AI at Maya HTT, added, "The collaboration between Maya HTT, Dell Technologies and NVIDIA is transforming industries by turning massive amounts of unstructured data into actionable insights. From accelerating satellite production to enabling real-time telemetry and AI-driven efficiency for marine vessels, our solutions are not only connecting unconnected worlds but also driving sustainability and safety. With Dell PowerScale and NVIDIA AI infrastructure, we're delivering faster, smarter and more impactful AI outcomes for our clients."