Dell management was in town Tuesday celebrating entrepreneurship, as well they should. After all, it was a relatively short 23 years ago that Michael Dell set out with $10,000 and a notion of a better way to build computers. As he said the other day, “I remember what it’s like to start a small company.” Of course, not everyone ends up building the world’s leading personal computer supplier.

More recently, the company has hit some rough patches and slipped to no. 2, behind Hewlett-Packard. Mr. Dell reassumed leadership of the company in January, and admitted Tuesday that “we have a long way to go” in putting the company back on track. On the other hand, the stock is up 26% over the past year, nicely outperforming the 16% rise in the S&P 500.

One of the main challenges facing Dell is the perception that the company’s service is subpar, a shortcoming that especially resonates with small business owners who rely on computers and typically don’t have in-house tech support. So Dell recently conducted a survey of 1,800 small businesses around the world in conjunction with the International Council for Small Businesses.

Not surprisingly, the survey showed that entrepreneurs think information technology is important for their businesses, and that they are seriously inconvenienced by service and security issues.

In response to the needs of these customers, Dell unveiled a new line of products called Vostro (Latin for “yours”) that is targeted at businesses with one to 25 employees.

One of the important selling points of Vostro computers is that they do not contain “trialware.” For those who are not tech-conversant, trialware describes programs that are embedded in your brand new computer and which, over time, will gum up the works like taffy in a blender. You don’t ask for them, you don’t want them, but there they are. Entrepreneurs relying on their computers to help build their businesses don’t want them, either — and now they can buy a unit without them.

This is only one of the stripped-down elements of the Vostro line. The computers are not well equipped for playing games or other recreational activities, but rather are particularly suited to business use.

Because of their relative simplicity, Vostro units can be hooked up and put into service in about 6 minutes, or roughly one-third the time needed by rival units. Connecting a unit to a network requires only six steps as opposed to the 14 steps needed for the most user-friendly competitor.

Also—and here’s a big item—the company is organizing a dedicated service group to deal with the needs of Vostro customers. One Dell spokesman told me that about half of these service specialists would be in America, as opposed to operating from call centers outsourced around the world.

Summing up the Vostro program, one of the Dell fellows said: “The needs of small businesses and consumers have diverged.”

Have they? Don’t most consumers also abhor trialware? Don’t we all long for simple start-ups? And capable, available service? If I were Dell management, I would consider carrying this notion of simplicity and trouble-free computing to the everyday consumer as well.

I’m sure the cost of eliminating trialware would be substantial, and the finances of bringing more of the call centers back to America will be a burden, but at least one consumer — me — would be willing to pay a slightly higher price for a machine that would be more reliable and more secure.

In any case, the average Joe is not the target market for these units — entrepreneurs are the lucky ones. To emphasize the point, Dell chose to give out its annual small business excellence award in conjunction with its Vostro launch. This year’s prize went to a software company called Medkinetics that certainly appeared to deserve it.

Started up eight years ago by Jim Cox, Medkinetics addresses the needs of hospitals and clinics to verify a doctor’s credentials when admitting him or her onto their staff. As with so many areas of health care, the recording and detailing of a doctor’s past training and certification has long been a cumbersome and paper-driven process, subject to delays and inaccuracies that, at the extreme, could cost a patient his life.

Mr. Cox has extended his software to include “privileging,” the process through which medical centers allow doctors to perform specific operations or procedures. Overall, the approach is meant to deliver a standardized, efficient method through which the medical community can pass on information about practitioners. It brings much-needed transparency to one area of a virtually opaque industry.

The need for such a solution was thrust into the spotlight after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when many doctors swarmed hospitals in stricken areas, offering to help. The hospitals in question had no way of determining the volunteers’ qualifications. As Medkinetics becomes more widely employed, such confusion will be reduced, saving the industry time and money. As Mr. Cox said “Healthcare is the last uncharted territory of computerization.”

The Medkinetics story is about problem solving, and about making something simple. The Dell folks seem headed in the same direction, but need to step up the pace if they are going to reassume industry leadership. In the meantime, what’s wrong with pretending to be a business, buying a Vostro product, and thereby saving yourself some tech headaches down the road?

If the Dell folks want to know your company’s business plan, tell them you’re thinking of launching a new computer manufacturing business that will one day become the world’s largest.

It’s worked before.

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