So Dell has acquired Sonicwall. Not really sure what to make of this. On one hand it fills in a gap in the Dell overall solution portfolio, on the other hand it is a far dry from the core business. Dell has consistently loss ground in their core consumer business due to shrinking margins and the onslaught of the ever growing Apple Computer ecosystem. One could even debate that they have not taken full advantage of the chaos over in the HP camp over they last 12 – 18 months while they are trying to restructure under new leadership. In my opinion, Dell needs to come right out and define themselves as either a hardware OEM or a full services company. The purchase of Sonicwall only seems to muddy the waters and will ultimately cause confusion for consumers and VARs alike. If the idea is to move toward as full services company, then purchases like Sonicwall will do well to build a full story of services. If this is true, it begs the next question as to what market are they looking to serve. When I think enterprise, I certainly don’t think Sonicwall. If the goal is to attack the mid tier SMB market, then Sonicwall is an excellent play. If the thought is at all in servicing the enterprise, I would think that another security vendor purchase will be required and I would think long and hard in my next set of acquisitions to address other service gaps. Hey Dell! What do you think about Palo Alto?   Cheers!