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Dell Computer Corp. today announced a resale deal with enterprise storage leader EMC Corp.
The five-year deal, which Dell officials said is in the “multi-billion dollar” range, gives EMC a new outlet for its low-end CLARiiON systems, which President and CEO Joe Tucci said last week the company needs to do a better job of marketing. For Dell, the deal gives the Round Rock, Texas, computer maker a new, credible revenue stream to help it compete against rivals Compaq Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., which will be particularly important if those two follow through with the announced merger.
Dell will use CLARiiON systems for both its network-attached storage (NAS) and storage-area network (SAN) product lines, officials said.
The partnership could have other ramifications as well. There will be joint product development, and EMC, of Hopkinton, Mass., could benefit from Dells manufacturing expertise, Dell officials said in a prepared statement.
More details are expected to emerge in a press conference later today.
The move, in theory, “is just stinking brilliant,” said industry analyst Steve Duplessie, of Milford, Mass.-based Enterprise Storage Group Inc., speaking late last month when rumors of the announcement surfaced.