Dell Reboots EMC Storage Line with PowerStore Elite, New AI Racks

At Dell Technologies World 2026, Dell centered its keynote on the Modern Data Center and introduced a set of hardware and software products for on-premises AI and high-performance computing workloads.

The company presented on-premises infrastructure as an option to handle large AI workloads without relying on public cloud capacity.

PowerStore Elite was presented as the next generation of the Unity midrange storage line. The system includes integrated AI software for automated load balancing and improved efficiency. Dell called it the biggest leap forward in the platform’s history.

Dell introduced 18th-generation PowerEdge servers that the company projects can deliver up to 70% better performance and that are optimized for AI and HPC tasks.

On resilience and security, Dell launched PowerProtect One, which combines PowerProtect Data Domain and PowerProtect Data Manager into a single cyber-resilience platform. The company also introduced Cyber Detect, an AI-driven ransomware detection service that integrates with PowerStore and PowerMax storage systems to surface and respond to threats more quickly.

Dell updated its automation and cloud orchestration stack with changes to the Dell Automation Platform, which includes Dell Private Cloud, Dell Distributed Private Cloud (previously marketed as Dell NativeEdge) and Dell Automation Studio. Dell described the platform as intended to simplify management of on-prem and distributed infrastructures.

Hardware updates included enhancements to the Dell Technologies AI Factory in partnership with Nvidia, the launch of PowerRack, a rack-scale storage system offered in three configurations to meet different performance and capacity requirements, and Deskside AI offerings powered by specialist PCs such as the Pro Max GB10 and Pro Max GB300.

Dell acquired EMC in 2016 and retired the Dell EMC brand by 2020. Conference attendees noted similarities between the Modern Data Center theme at the 2026 event and EMC’s final standalone conference in 2016, which used the strapline ‘Modernize.’ Dell presented the new products as on-premises options for enterprises that need substantial memory and compute for AI workloads and as alternatives to public cloud capacity.