Dell's AI server orders surge; Barclays upgrades its rating to "Overweight," citing enhanced security and performance of its PowerStore storage solutions

On February 3, 2026, Dell Technologies, a leading global technology solutions provider, received a double boost: its AI server business saw strong order performance, and Barclays, a renowned international investment bank, upgraded its rating from "Hold" to "Overweight," setting a target price of $148.  Simultaneously, Dell announced a major upgrade to its PowerStore storage system, further enhancing its enterprise-grade data infrastructure through three core upgrades: AI enablement, increased density, and enhanced security, helping enterprises address the data growth and security challenges of the AI ​​era.

Barclays explicitly stated in its rating report that the core logic behind the upgrade was the explosive growth and robust operational performance of Dell's AI server business. The report showed that Dell's AI servers, thanks to their excellent computing power adaptability, comprehensive ecosystem compatibility, and stable supply chain guarantees, have seen a continuous increase in orders recently. As of the end of January 2026, its AI server backlog demonstrated strong resilience, fully benefiting from the global AI infrastructure construction boom. Barclays predicted that Dell's AI server business growth rate would reach 155% and 60% in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, respectively.  Furthermore, 70% of its traditional server installations are still older generation products, indicating significant upgrade demand that will continue to support business growth.

Currently, the global AI server market is in a period of rapid expansion. Data from TrendForce shows that global AI server shipments will increase by over 28% year-on-year in 2026, with North American cloud service providers (CSPs) experiencing a 40% year-on-year increase in capital expenditures, driving growth in both AI servers and general-purpose servers. Thanks to its deep cooperation with core chip manufacturers such as Nvidia, and its accumulated expertise in AI computing power optimization and cooling technology, Dell's AI server products are precisely tailored to core scenarios such as large language model training and AI inference, gaining widespread recognition from leading CSPs such as Google and Microsoft, as well as various enterprise customers, becoming a core engine driving its performance growth.

While its AI server business continues to lead the market, Dell is also simultaneously advancing its storage product iterations, introducing several significant upgrades to its PowerStore storage system, focusing on the core pain points of enterprise data management in the AI ​​era. The most notable feature of this upgrade is the addition of AI-driven capacity forecasting.  Through built-in intelligent algorithms, it can analyze data growth trends in real time, accurately predict storage capacity requirements, helping enterprises plan storage resources in advance, avoid capacity redundancy or insufficiency, and effectively reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).

In terms of performance improvements, the upgraded PowerStore storage system achieves a 30% increase in single-rack density. Combined with the newly launched 30TB QLC hard drives, it can store up to 2 PBe of data in only 2U of rack space, with energy efficiency improvements of up to 23%, significantly saving data center space and energy consumption, and meeting the high-density deployment requirements of AI data centers. In addition, the system supports flexible expansion, starting with 11 hard drives and enabling hybrid drive deployment, providing a flexible expansion path for growing enterprises.

In terms of security protection, the PowerStore storage system adds a native zero-trust architecture, building a comprehensive data security defense line through multiple protection mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication, hardware root of trust, and disk-level encryption.  It also supports immutable snapshot functionality, allowing the creation of tamper-proof data backups to effectively resist ransomware attacks and minimize data loss and business interruption risks. Furthermore, the system adds multi-party authorization (MPA) functionality, requiring approval from two administrators for critical storage operations, further strengthening storage security management.

A Dell representative stated that the strong performance of AI server orders and the upgrade of PowerStore storage are important achievements for Dell in focusing on AI infrastructure construction and cultivating the enterprise market. Currently, enterprise digital transformation is entering a critical stage, with both AI computing power demands and data security challenges coexisting. Dell will continue to integrate full-stack resources such as servers, storage, and networking, and provide enterprises with more efficient, secure, and flexible IT solutions through technological innovation, helping them achieve high-quality development in the AI ​​era.

Industry analysts believe that Barclays' upgrade of Dell's rating is not only a recognition of its AI server business but also an affirmation of its full-stack IT solution capabilities. With the continuous advancement of global AI infrastructure construction and the increasing demand for enterprise data security, Dell, leveraging the synergistic advantages of its server and storage businesses, is expected to further expand its market share and consolidate its leading position in the global enterprise IT solutions field.