Dell and Quest Software today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Dell to acquire Quest, an IT management software provider offering a broad selection of solutions for the most common and most challenging IT problems.
Dell recently announced the formation of its Software Group to build upon its existing software expertise. The Dell Software Group will add to Dell’s enterprise solutions capability, accelerate strategic growth and further differentiate the company from competitors by increasing its solutions portfolio with Dell-owned intellectual property.
Quest’s family of software solutions and key technologies are strongly aligned with Dell’s software strategy. The acquisition provides critical components to expand Dell’s software capabilities in systems management, security, data protection and workspace management. In addition, Quest’s software portfolio is highly complementary to Dell’s scalable design approach to develop solutions that scale with customer needs.
Quest, established in 1987, is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif. and serves more than 100,000 customers worldwide, including 87 percent of the Fortune 500. The company has approximately 3,850 employees and operates 60 offices in 23 countries.
“The addition of Quest will enable Dell to deliver more competitive server, storage, networking and end user computing solutions and services to customers,” said John Swainson, president, Dell Software Group, in the press release. “Quest’s suite of industry-leading software products, highly-talented team members and unique intellectual property will position us well in the largest and fastest growing areas of the software industry. We intend to build upon the strong momentum Quest brings to Dell.”
“Clearly, Dell’s distribution, reach and brand are well recognized in the industry. Combine that with Quest’s software expertise and award-winning systems management products and you have a very powerful combination for our customers and partners,” said Vinny Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Quest Software, in the press release. “With this transaction, Quest’s products and employees become the foundation for Dell’s critical software business.”
Under terms of the agreement, approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Dell will pay $28.00 per share in cash for each share of Quest for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.4 billion, net of Quest’s cash and debt. The transaction is expected to close in Dell’s third fiscal quarter, subject to approval by Quest’s shareholders and customary conditions.
Source: Dell Inc.
MacDailyNews Take: Michael Dell’s “quest” to transition beleaguered Dell Inc. into a services company continues in a Post-PC world ruled by Apple Inc.
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“Dell recently announced the formation of its Software Group to build upon its existing software expertise.”
Existing software expertise??? Any one have a clue as to what that is? I’m serious, ‘cuz I don’t know.
Dell makes a bit of money from it’s server business.
Quest, an IT management software provider offering a broad selection of solutions for the most common and most challenging IT problems.
So it replaces Windows with a real OS?
Not sure if this is a good acquisition. Apple on the other hand makes some good acquisitions. You can usually see the direction Apple is going.
Dell hopes being a service company keeps them alive when the PC manufacturing days are behind them.
Seems they are taking the IBM path. They apparently don’t understand the concept of SIDAGTMBTTS.
Apple is still selling PCs. In fact, the last WWDC was all about mobile or portable PCs (i.e. MacBooks). When in this post-PC thing supposed to happen?
Those who follow Apple news closely (and particularly MDN) know that Steve defined post-PC as the PC moving away from its previous central position as hub for digital devices to an equal position with the newer mobile digital devices. vaporization of all PCs was not the point. Oh, and we’re definitely in a post horse-drawn vehicle era, but it doesn’t mean you don’t see buggies in PA and major and historic cities drawn by horses.
I guess that the definition of a “post-PC” world applies only if you live in parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and Indiana.
Ugh, NYC, NOLA, Charleston SC, …
Point is post tech xyz doesn’t mean xyz is extinct. Sorry, I didn’t fully close out the thought.
Michigan has a lot of Amish, too.
Not to mention Mackinac island, MI, where cars have been illegal since 1896.
MDN said it all!
Quest makes very powerful integration an migration tools. Regardless of MDNs ignorant take, this is a feather in the cap for flagging Dell. With the acquisition of Case management tools and Dells long standig relationships with IT departments large and small, this could well give legs to Dell and prevent them from pulling a RIM.
Yeah…. so that more companies are shafted by IT idiots who would be far better off using mac-based networks and Mac pros as server machines….
Honestly, we switched and the server version of Lion has all the tools you’d ever need to manage “common problems” that pop up
Mac server is fine if you have a little office of 10-15 people…
You’ll have something a little more PRO and HARDCORE if you have 100’s or thousands of users with 100’s of servers and services and things flying around on your huge network..
The mac paradigm starts to break down the larger it gets..
Ever wonder why iCloud is run on unix and HP machines?
??????
Ever realized the Mac OS X *IS* Unix? Last I heard TCP/IP could handle quite a few users.
Hmm, okay. You probably have a valid point there. 😛
Spend Michael! SPEND SPEND SPEND!
I can hardly wait for Windows L8 and the Metro backlash. Dell is going to be majorly hosed.
C’mon MDN, have a little heart. You shouldn’t be gloating over a helpless little creature in its final, desperate, death throes.
Mike Dell certainly gloated over a helpless Apple in 97.
So, is this an attempted end-run by Dell to block Apple at the corporate IT desk?
It would appear to be an attempt to bolster its own position in the corporate world, as it is failing in the consumer market. In other words, Dell is retreating to its fortifications, not trying to flank Apple.
Poor Quest. Does no one feel their pain? Taken over by Mikey — sigh. I hear strains of Queen in the background: Another one bites the dust…
Determined to go out with a bang instead of slipping quietly into oblivion, Dell has announced that they will acquire Quest Software.
MDN’s response to this article and some of the knee-jerk know-nothing responses add some colour to why a lot of people don’t rate the critical reasoning skills of the Mac community.
Whilst most of you will never know Quest or have any reason to know about their products, those of us who really have the best interests of the Mac at heart will be disappointed by this news because of the potential disruption to those of us who swear by the NetVault backup product that was acquired by Quest when it purchased BakBone in 2011.
NetVault is at the heart of a lot of larger Mac OS X Server installs where multiple terabytes of data stored on Promise, LaCie and ActiveStorage need to be backed up to multiple generations of disk and tape.
So whilst laughing about Dell is all well and good, it’s less funny when their moves for survival affect a product on which many serious Mac users in broadcast, media and education might be reliant.
I didn’t even know Dell was still in business?! Huh… And they have 2.x billion?! HUH… Well – they don’t anymore, but…
So they’re still in business huh…
Amazing.
MDN’s take is just ignorant.
If you’re Dell, and you want to have any hope of surviving after your core (PC) business is overrun by the Apple juggernaut, you find your niche and adapt. Dell knows it can’t out-innovate Apple, and it’s long ago list its stronghold on the PC business.
I think Dell is looking at the landscape and realizing that the Widows era is past, and soon to die a very painful final death with the release of Windows 8, and that they need to hedge their bets on something more likely to succeed.
And let’s face facts: Apple has left the server market largely unapped. They discountinued their Server hardware offerings; and even if OSX *can* perform well as a server OS, it isn’t penetrating that market nearly as well as it is the consumer and small business markets. This is a last-ditch effort on Dell’s part to remain relevant. And Quest is pretty good stuff, giving them at least a fighting chance of pulling that off.
I know as Apple fans we’re all wired to hate Michael Dell, but this might actually be the smartest thing he’s done in over a decade. Only time will tell.
The truth about Quest Software revealed in the letter sent from Quest employee to CEO:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzlJizLqiOloTWpGNGNtVmFXZ2M
http://www.filefactory.com/file/atmq3en08qp/n/Letter_to_CEO.msg