Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., the world's No. 1 and No. 2 makers of personal computers, have been making acquisitions in recent years to strengthen their positions as purveyors of technology and consulting services to businesses of all sizes. A sampling of recent deals:
HP
— July 2009: Ibrix, storage software maker, for undisclosed amount.
— October 2008: LeftHand Networks, storage technology provider, for $360 million in cash.
— May 2008: Electronic Data Systems, technology services and outsourcing firm, for $13.9 billion in cash.
Dell
— July 2010: Ocarina Networks, maker of technology to compress data and remove duplicate information, for undisclosed amount.
— July 2010: Scalent, maker of software to help companies manage data center infrastructure, for undisclosed amount.
— February 2010: Exanet, bankrupt Israeli start-up that made file storage technology, for $12 million.
— September 2009: Perot Systems, technology services provider with major focuses on health care and government agencies, for $3.9 billion in cash.
— November 2007: EqualLogic, maker of storage systems, for $1.4 billion in cash.
