Dell's own first attempt selling and tablets wasn't very successful, but it hopes to come back strongly with tablets based on the upcoming Windows 8 OS. It will differentiate itself by selling management software hand in hand with those devices, Swainson said.

Quest brings capabilities that Dell can leverage across its other software products, he said. Its NetVault data protection software, for instance, will complement Dell's storage offerings, and its identity management software will add value to Dell's security products, he said.

"To the extent you can feed ID information into the edge of the network, it makes threat management far easier," he said.

Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, agreed that Quest could be the "glue" that binds Dell's products together. While its acquisition choices have been good, he said, it was sometimes hard to see how the pieces fit together.

The goals it has set itself are achievable, King said, but everything depends on execution.