EMC plans $3bn acquisition spend

Hopkinton: EMC Corp may spend about $3 billion on acquisitions this year, keeping pace with last year’s tally, to add businesses that can help corporate customers analyse reams of data, chief operating officer Pat Gelsinger said.

EMC will use deals to diversify beyond the storage business that generates 75% of sales, Gelsinger said in an interview.

Purchases will home EMC’s focus on tools and services for so-called “big-data,” reams of information from multiple sources, including the Web, email and computer systems, he said

“We have to double down,” Gelsinger said. “We’re not done with our acquisitions in this space — I expect we’ll do more. The number one storage infrastructure application for us is big data.”

EMC says it spent $3.2bn last year on acquisitions.