Dell looks to buy storage firm Compellent

By Geoff Duncan December 10, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Computer maker Dell has announced it is in “advanced discussions” to acquire enterprise-level storage firm Compellent in an all-cash deal that would value Compellent at $27.50 per share. Although that price is below Compellent’s current closing price, industry watchers believe that Compellent’s price has been artificially inflated on rumors of a deal. If the merger goes through, the deal would probably ring up between $875 and $900 million.

The news comes as Dell struggles to build up its enterprise storage business. Dell is currently the number five storage vendor amongst enterprises and folks who build out those gigantic data centers that power everything from YouTube and Facebook to Flickr and Netflix. Dell recently lost a bidding war with Hewlett-Packard to acquire storage vendor 3Par, and there are comparatively few remaining acquisition targets left in the industry that Dell could use to bolster its business.

Although Dell’s storage solutions have been built around a long-term relationship with EMC and EqualLogic, Compellent offers a scalable network storage solution dubbed “Fliud Data Storage” built on cloud-based virtual storage solutions and aimed at reducing management costs. Compellent also offers enterprise level SAN storage solutions.

Dell has made other recent acquisitions in a move to bolster its storage business, including Ocarina Networks (which focuses on de-duplication and compression) and scalable NAS provider Exanet.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Dell

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

This Dell gaming laptop with an RTX 3050 is discounted to $700

Dell G15 gaming laptop on a table.

You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to be able to get a decent gaming laptop, as there are budget-friendly options like the Dell G15 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card. It's currently even cheaper at just $700, following a $200 discount on its original price of $900. We're not sure how much time is remaining on this offer though, so if you think this is the perfect gaming laptop for you, stop hesitating and proceed with the purchase immediately to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the Dell G15 gaming laptop
The Dell G15 is highlighted in our list of the best gaming laptops as the best budget gaming laptop under $1,000, as it provides dependable performance while staying affordable for most gamers. It's equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, which is perfect for budget gaming, and pairs it with the 13th-generation Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. These specifications are more than enough to be able to play the best PC games, though you may have to dial down the settings for the more demanding titles.

Computing

Get up to $900 off the Dell XPS 15 and Dell XPS 17 today

A Dell XPS 15 laptop on an office desk next to a monitor.

It’s all change at Dell this year with the Dell XPS 16 replacing the Dell XPS 17 and the Dell XPS 15 gradually seeing fewer updates. That means if you’re still keen to snag a Dell XPS 15 or 17, your chance to do so is running out. That’s why it’s great to see some excellent laptop deals for both models with up to $900 to be saved at the moment. If you’re looking for a new laptop, read on while we guide you through what each laptop has to offer.
Dell XPS 17 -- $1,949, was $2,849

The Dell XPS 17 remains a good option for anyone seeking a powerful laptop that works well as a desktop replacement. It has a 13th-generation Intel Core i7-13700H processor with a massive 32GB of memory so it’s ideal for all kinds of productivity-based tasks such as if you need to manage many spreadsheets at once or if you just prefer to have a lot of windows open at once. It also has 1TB of SSD storage while it can handle plenty of gaming too thanks to its Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card. Its display is a 17-inch full HD+ model with 1920 x 1200 resolution, anti-glare properties, and 500 nits of brightness so it looks great. Other quality of life improvements include plenty of USB-C ports, up to 14 hours of battery life, a great cooling system, and a form factor that means it squeezes a 17-inch display into a 15-inch form size. It also has a large edge-to-edge backlit keyboard, comfortable touchpad, and large keycaps so it feels good to work on as you’d expect from the makers of some of the best laptops.

Computing

Best Dell laptop deals: Cheap laptops starting at $280

The Dell XPS 13 9315 on a table against a window.

If you're looking to pick up a new laptop, then Dell is one of the best laptop brands out there and has a multitiude of optoins for you to pick from depending on your needs. For example, Dell has both Alienware and G-Series which are some of the best gaming laptops on the market, and the Dell XPS lineup are some of the best laptops on the market and are made to compete with the MacBook. But that doesn't mean that Dell only has high-end gear for you to pick, and there are absolutely some great budget laptops and starter options.
Of course, having so many options can be a bit overwhelming for somebody who isn't familiar with Dell or the laptop market, which is why we scoured the Dell website for our favorite picks and listed them below. So, be sure to see if there's anything in here that tickles your fancy, and if not, check out some of these other great laptop deals as well.

Dell Inspiron 15 -- $280, was $330