
"By broadening and extending our deep alliance Dell and EMC are able to deliver to customers fully integrated datacenter solutions as the preeminent storage partners to customers worldwide,” said Dell founder and chief executive Michael Dell.
"Today’s economic realities place an emphasis on efficient solutions that consolidate and virtualize, which through our long-standing partnership we are well positioned to deliver."
For industry analysts, news of the deal came as little surprise. Pund-IT principal analyst Charles King called the news "one of the year's least surprising announcements."
"Both companies have done quite well from the deal," King noted.
"However, more recent announcements, including, the data warehousing and data de-duplication efforts, suggest the pair’s collaboration has deepened beyond simple co-branding and sales optimization."
King suggested that the longevity of the partnership, which dates back to the last major economic crisis, could work to the advantage of both companies in the coming months.
"In both cases, companies came under pressure that required them to reconsider
the fundamental business value of technology," wrote the analyst.
The severely tightening IT budgets that many expect during the next 12-24 months heighten the critical importance of solutions that are as cost-effective as they are technologically innovative."