Dell in early February also formed a software group, appointing former CA CEO John Swainson to lead the unit. The company also acquired a string of software companies, including Make Technologies and Clerity Solutions, which automate the migration of legacy applications to new systems, and AppAssure, which specializes in data backup.

The company continued its shift in the "mix of our business during a challenging environment," said Brian Gladden, Dell's chief financial officer, in a statement.

But Dell also has had to contend with lower demand in the consumer segment and slower enterprise demand for products in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), he said in a conference call to discuss the financial results.

There has been a pause in IT spending in some countries, Gladden said, but an uptick is expected in the second quarter, with more spending in the education and government sectors.

Some customers could also be holding off spending on PCs with the expected release of Microsoft's Windows 8 OS, Gladden said.