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Dell Inc.'s $340 million
deal
Thursday for ASAP Software Inc. underscores the computer maker's push into
information technology services. Dell has long offered IT services, but it
never really focused on them in the way rivals Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM
Corp. do. That appears to be changing as Dell announces its second deal of the
summer. It
acquired
Silverback Technologies Inc., a maker of remote systems management, on July 19
for an undisclosed amount.
The deal for ASAP is Dell's fifth acquisition and third services sector buy in its 23-year history. In 2002 it purchased Plural Inc. as a way to get into services. Dell then avoided any acquisitions until 2006, when it bought high-end gaming computer company Alienware Inc. Analysts have called for Dell to do more deals, but in previous interviews founder and CEO Michael Dell had always stressed the computer maker's preference for organic growth. In the coming months, expect Dell to pick off more tech services companies.—Stacey Higginbotham
See
Aug. 2 story from TheDeal.com
See
July 19 post from Tech Confidential
See
March 2006 story from Fortune
