Dell Inc. an American computer hardware company based in Round Rock, Texas, develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, personal digital assistants (PDAs), software, computer peripherals, and more. As of 2006[update] it employs more than 63,700 people worldwide and manufactures more computers than any other organization in the world. According to the Forbes 500 2005 list, Dell ranks as the 28th-largest company in the United States by revenue. In 2005, Fortune magazine ranked Dell as No. 1 on its annual list of the most-admired companies in the United States, displacing Walmart.
Michael Dell, while still a student at the University of Texas at Austin, founded the company as PC's Limited [sic] with just $1000, in his room at Jester Center, an on-campus dorm, in 1984. The startup aimed to sell IBM-compatible computers built from stock components. Michael Dell founded the company in the belief that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, PC's Limited could best understand their needs and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs.