Dell and EMC began working together in 2001. At that time, the deal was painted as a way for Dell to offer high-end and mid-range storage products to its customers, while EMC could tap the growing market for servers running the Windows operating system.

Over the years, the relationship between EMC and Dell has generated significant revenue for both companies.

During EMC's 2007 fiscal year, Dell accounted for 14.3 percent of the $5.7 billion EMC earned in revenue, or $823.7 million, according to the company's most recent .

Dell does not break out the specific amount of revenue generated by the EMC partnership, but storage sales represented 4 percent, or US$2.4 billion, of the company's overall revenue during its 2008 fiscal year, which ended on Feb. 1, the company . That figure includes revenue from sales of EMC products, as well as Dell's own storage offerings.