Dell to buy SonicWall

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Dell Inc said it would buy network security products maker SonicWall from an investor group as the world's No. 3 personal computer maker tries to tap growing demand to protect corporate networks.

Dell is trying to boost profit margins by focusing on being a one-stop shop for business clients by adding products in areas including security, storage and cloud computing so it can rely less on the PC business for which it is best known.

The firm is best known for selling Unified Threat Management technologies that small and mid-sized businesses use to protect their networks from computer viruses, spam and other cyber threats.

The whole game plan that they have put in place

"This at heart is part of the whole game plan that they have put in place, in other words to acquire a key research. They've been doing this in enterprise storage, in networking, and now they're doing this in security as then," said analyst Brian Marshall of ISI Group.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell has been waging an uphill battle to diversify its revenue base from PCs to become a larger player in the data center equipment market and IT services. It faces stiff competition in those markets from the likes of IBM and HP.

To help that effort, it has been acquiring companies, including Force 10 Networks and Compellent Technologies, to boost its enterprise-related products and services.

Last year, Dell made a splash in the security industry by purchasing SecureWorks, which remotely monitors corporate networks to help companies identify when they have been attacked. The price was not disclosed.

Founded in 1991, San Jose, California-based SonicWall had revenue of $260 million last year and boasts of 300,000 clients.

"SonicWall is going to contribute less than 1 percent to Dell's revenue, however they're moving in the right direction," analyst Marshall said.