"In the beginning, this partnership was just about selling each other's products. Now, it's 'Let's act as one unit,'" Felice said, attributing the partnership's success to good chemistry between Dell and EMC and a concerted effort to make sure both companies benefit from the relationship.

The timing of the announcement signals Dell and EMC want to end industry speculation about where their partnership is headed, said Simon Piff, program director for storage research at IDC Asia-Pacific.

"They just want to quash any concerns," Piff said.

EMC is an important partner for Dell because EMC's storage products cover the entire range of the market, something the EqualLogic product line doesn't, Piff said. The ability to offer a full range of storage products helps open more doors for the computer vendor.

"EMC gets Dell into the high-end enterprise market, particularly in the mission-critical space," Piff said.