Dell has been reportedly in talks to buy data storage company EMC Corp in what could be one of the biggest technology deals ever. The Wall Street Journal reported that sources familiar with the matter believe the deal comes at a time when EMC has been considering options around the federation structure it has built in partnership with a myriad of industry players, including VMWare, Red Hat, VCE, and Pivotal.

However, it is unclear whether Dell will be partially or completely taking over EMC.

In a seperate report, Reuters says that Dell was also talking to banks to finance an all-cash offer for the Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based company.

A potential deal could further strengthen Dell's presence among corporate clients at a time when Michael Dell has been trying to transform the company he founded in 1984 into a complete provider of enterprise computing services.

If the deal goes through, it will top Avago Technologies's $37 billion offer for Broadcom.

EMC has been struggling under pressure from activist investor and shareholder Elliott Management Corp, which wants the company to spin off its majority-owned VMware unit.

In September 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that EMC was exploring options and had held talks with Dell and HP.