Dell and EMC to extend relationship

Dell and EMC have announced they will extend their multibillion-dollar "strategic alliance" until 2011, in what they have called an extension of a "symbiotic relationship".

Speaking at Dell's Technology Day in New York on Tuesday, the company's chief executive officer, Kevin Rollins, said that "while alliances come and go", Dell was looking forward to the extension of an "outstanding relationship".

The two companies signed the original agreement in October 2001 to collaborate on sales, marketing and engineering, combining Dell's cost-efficient manufacturing model with EMC's storage experience. Initiatives have included targeting SME storage with the AX100 and AX150i products.

"It's hard to believe it's been five years," said Joe Tucci, the chief executive officer of EMC. The storage company "couldn't be more pleased" with the continued relationship, Tucci added.

In April this year, Dell announced a storage array aimed firmly at the market for small and medium-sized companies. The Dell AX150 with Fibre Channel support and AX 150i with iSCSI come with up to 6TB of storage capacity, making it easily the largest storage device that Dell has come up with to date. Each product will cost around £6,499, not including VAT.

The move helped to strengthen Dell's position in a market that is being keenly fought over by the major vendors. In April, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) launched its "fastest midrange storage" box aimed at the SME market.