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So it comes as no surprise that the computer company's model of innovation is based heavily on tapping into ideas from customers. To do so, the company started to investigate how it might connect with customers online. The result was IdeaStorm, initially a blog and now a website, facilitating what is known as "crowdsourcing".

Once a user posts a suggestion on IdeaStorm - launched in February last year - the community can vote for or against it with a simple click of the mouse. A forum section of the site allows individuals to debate ideas in depth. When, soon after the launch, visitors to the site suggested that the company offer the Linux operating system, hundreds of thousands voted for the idea. Consumer feedback allowed Dell to tailor the product to customer requirements and launch the product quickly.

"By the end of May, we'd launched our first systems with Linux," Dell vice president of communities and conversations Bob Pearson said.

"Normally, the product-development window in technology for hardware is 12 to 18 months. This was a software improvement, but that's still a quick turnaround."

Pearson sees the model as an effective way of speeding up product improvements and innovations. "It still makes sense to talk directly with our business partners one-to-one in conference rooms, but only if it is balanced with the real-time feedback we receive from our customers," Pearson said.