Dell and Quest Software have entered into a definitive agreement for Dell to acquire Quest, an IT management software provider.

Dell recently announced the formation of its Software Group to build upon its existing software expertise. The Dell Software Group will add to Dell's enterprise solutions capability, accelerate strategic growth and increase Dell's solutions portfolio with Dell-owned intellectual property.

Quest's family of software solutions and key technologies are aligned with Dell?s software strategy. The acquisition provides critical components to expand Dell?s software capabilities in systems management, security, data protection and workspace management. In addition, Quest?s software portfolio is complementary to Dell's scalable design approach. For example, the Quest One Identity and Access Management solution family adds to Dell's set of security assets with SonicWALL and Secureworks. Quest's Performance Monitoring solutions for applications, networks and databases address a need for Dell's customers. Quest's Windows Server Management solutions complement Dell Services' application modernization practice with recently acquired Clerity Solutions and Make Technologies. Last but not least, Quest's Database Management capabilities offer a complement to Dell's enterprise offering.

Quest supports heterogeneous and next-generation virtualized environments across various platform vendors. The addition of Quest, including its 1,500 software sales experts and 1,300 software developers, to Dell's existing software expertise in systems management, security and cloud integration, is the foundation of a $1.2 billion software business, based on annual revenue.