Dell is a private company now and is going through a transformation. USAToday has an article on a Michael Dell interview.

It's a challenge Dell relishes after feeling handcuffed by the expectations from the market for a public company undergoing a significant makeover. "The market encourages (public companies) to not make investments in new areas," he says, wincing at the notion. "It is short-term focused."

IDC chimes in.

A private Dell allows it to move at its own speed to transform to an end-to-end technology solutions company without quarterly pressures from Wall Street and comparisons to rivals HP, Lenovo and Microsoft, says IDC analyst Matthew Eastwood, who closely follows Dell.

More and more companies are realizing being private has advantages vs. being public.

For now, the ending appears happy. "What I saw at Dell's analysts' meeting (in May) was a relaxed, confident Michael Dell," Moorhead says. "He is no longer under the thumb of Wall Street. He can make moves at his pace."

How many companies like Twitter who have gone public wish the old days of being able to take risks were part of DNA? Like the days before the IPO.