ght handle such a recall."

Other analysts agree that this recent debacle is not a one-off.

"...While Dell was one of the first to use these Sony batteries and likely bought the majority of them, Dell is not the only one suggesting that notebooks from others... may have similar issues. This means other recalls may be fort

The recent spate of exploding Dell laptops may be the start of things to come according to experts from Gartner and the Enderle Group

Dell's recent recall of more than four million fire-risk laptop batteries is not an isolated incident and should serve as a stark warning that businesses must ensure they have the processes in place to deal with a repeat performance, warn experts.

The danger highlighted by Dell's high-profile embarrassment last week is potentially much larger in scale than anyone can anticipate at present, according to analyst firm Gartner.

This is due to the fact that Sony, the supplier of the batteries in question, provides the same materials to other vendors too. To stifle the ill-effects or something similar happening to another vendor, organisations must ensure they can easily check whether they have affected equipment and have adequate replacement plans in place.

"The scale of this recall reinforces the importance of maintaining detailed and up-to-date asset-tracking information," said Gartner.

"While the probability of encountering a problematic battery is close to one in one million, the risk cannot be ignored...If you use other manufacturers' notebooks, employ this event as a 'fire drill' that will enable you to understand how effectively your processes might handle such a recall."

Other analysts agree that this recent debacle is not a one-off.

"...While Dell was one of the first to use these Sony batteries and likely bought the majority of them, Dell is not the only one suggesting that notebooks from others... may have similar issues. This means other recalls may be forth

es in place to deal with a repeat performance, warn experts.

The danger highlighted by Dell's high-profile embarrassment last week is potentially much larger in scale than anyone can anticipate at present, according to analyst firm Gartner.

This is due to the fact that Sony, the supplier of the batteries in question, provides the same materials to other vendors too. To stifle the ill-effects or something similar happening to another vendor, organisations must ensure they can easily check whether they have affected equipment and have adequate replacement plans in place.

"The scale of this recall reinforces the importance of maintaining detailed and up-to-date asset-tracking information," said Gartner.

"While the probability of encountering a problematic battery is close to one in one million, the risk cannot be ignored...If you use other manufacturers' notebooks, employ this event as a 'fire drill' that will enable you to understand how effectively your processes might handle such a recall."

Other analysts agree that this recent debacle is not a one-off.

"...While Dell was one of the first to use these Sony batteries and likely bought the majority of them, Dell is not the only one suggesting that notebooks from others... may have similar issues. This means other recalls may be fort

vides the same materials to other vendors too. To stifle the ill-effects or something similar happening to another vendor, organisations must ensure they can easily check whether they have affected equipment and have adequate replacement plans in place.

"The scale of this recall reinforces the importance of maintaining detailed and up-to-date asset-tracking information," said Gartner.

"While the probability of encountering a problematic battery is close to one in one million, the risk cannot be ignored...If you use other manufacturers' notebooks, employ this event as a 'fire drill' that will enable you to understand how effectively your processes might handle such a recall."

Other analysts agree that this recent debacle is not a one-off.

"...While Dell was one of the first to use these Sony batteries and likely bought the majority of them, Dell is not the only one suggesting that notebooks from others... may have similar issues. This means other recalls may be fort

and up-to-date asset-tracking information," said Gartner.

"While the probability of encountering a problematic battery is close to one in one million, the risk cannot be ignored...If you use other manufacturers' notebooks, employ this event as a 'fire drill' that will enable you to understand how effectively your processes might handle such a recall."

Other analysts agree that this recent debacle is not a one-off.

"...While Dell was one of the first to use these Sony batteries and likely bought the majority of them, Dell is not the only one suggesting that notebooks from others... may have similar issues. This means other recalls may be fort

ght handle such a recall."

Other analysts agree that this recent debacle is not a one-off.

"...While Dell was one of the first to use these Sony batteries and likely bought the majority of them, Dell is not the only one suggesting that notebooks from others... may have similar issues. This means other recalls may be forthcoming," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle in a recent blog.

"Because of the nature and frequency of this problem there is no amount of reasonable post manufacturing testing thorough enough to catch it and only a detailed manufacturing line review, after knowing the problem existed, identified it."

Just a few days after its mammoth recall, Dell published bleak results for its second quarter for the period ending August 4, announcing that profits had dropped by more than half.