We are committed to managing and operating our business in a responsible and sustainable manner around the globe. This includes our commitment to environmental responsibility in all areas of our business. In June 2007, we announced an ambitious long-term goal to be the "greenest technology company on the planet" and have a number of efforts that take the environment into account at every stage of the product lifecycle. This siso includes cur focus on maintaining a strong control environment, high ethical standards, and financial reporting integrity. Business Strategy Our core business strategy is built around our direct customer model, relevant technologies and solutions, and highly efficient manufacturing and logistics; and we are expanding that core strategy by adding new distribution channels to reach even more commercial customers and individual consumers around the world. Using this strategy, we strive to provide the best possible customer experience by offering superior value; high-quality, relevant technology; customized systems and services, superior service and support; and differentiated products and services that are easy to buy and use. Historically, our growth has been driven organi cally from our core businesses. Recently, we have begun to pursue a targeted acquisition strategy designed to wagment select areas of our business with more products, services, and technology that our customers value. For example, with our recent acquisition of Equallogic, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance storage area network solutions, and the subse- quent expansion of Dell's ParmerDirect channel, we are ready to deliver customers an easier and more affordable solution for storing and processing data, Our core values include the following: We simplify information technology for customers. Making quality personal computers, servers, storage, and services affordable is Dell's legacy. We are focused on making infor- mation technology affordable for millions of customers around the world. As a result of our direct relationships with customers, or "customer intimacy," we are best positioned to simplify how customers implement and maintain information technology and deliver hard- ware, services, and software solutions tailored for their businesses and homes. We offer customers choice. Customers can purchase systems and services from Dell via telephone, at a growing number of retail stores, and through our Web site, www.dell.com, where they may review, configure, and price systems within our entire product line, order systems online, and track orders from manufacturing through ship- ping. Customers may offer suggestions for current and future Dell products and services through an interactive portion of our website called Dell IdeaStorm. Commercial cus- tomers also can interact with dedicated account teams. We plan to continue to expand out recently launched indirect initiative by adding new disebution channels to reach additional consumers and small businesses through retail partners and value-added resellers globally. Customers can purchase custom-built products and custom-tailored services. Histori- cally our flexible, build-to-order manufacturing process enabled us to turn over inventory quickly, thereby reducing inventory levels, and rapidly being the latest technology to our customers. The global IT industry and our competition have evolved, and we are contin- uing to expand our utilization of original design manufacturers, manufacturing outsourc ing relationships, and new distribution strategies to better meet customer needs and re- duce product cycle times. Our goal is to introduce the latest relevant technology more quickly and to rapidly pass on component cost savings to a broader set of our customers worldwide. We are committed to being environmentally responsible in all areas of our business. We have built environmental consideration into every stage of the Dell product life cycle-from devel- oping and designing energy-efficient products, to reducing the footprint of our manufacturing and operations, to customer use and product recovery.