Dell's acquisition of Perot Systems apparently signifies its new-found aspiration to make it big in the services sector. But for now, it appears nothing more than an attempt at playing catch-up with the big tech rivals like IBM, HP and Accenture.

In the biggest ever deal in its history, Dell, the PC giant of yesteryear, but now a mere shadow of its former self, agreed to buy Perot Systems, an IT services firm, in a deal valued at $3.9 bn. The acquisition is perceived to be the most prominent move by the Round Rock, Texas-based firm, away from its core personal-computer business, which is in the whirlpool of dwindling profits as it has been consistently losing market share to competitors for the last few years, which saw it first lose its market leadership position to HP a few years back, and now has to be content as the No. 3 player, as it recently lost the 2^nd spot to Taiwanese rival, Acer. While rivals have been chipping away at its market share, Dell's cause has also not been helped by falling PC prices, coupled with shifting consumer preference towards designer and trendy notebooks where Dell has been a slow adopter, and the recent worldwide economic slowdown which has forced customers, particularly businesses, a key customer segment for Dell, to postpone purchases. Even the founder-CEO, Michael Dell, who earned the distinction of being the youngest American CEO ever to enter the Fortune 500 in 1992 and who returned at the helm of the company's affairs in January 2007, has failed to reverse the fall in the fortune of the company, which was once an undisputed leader of the PC segment, thanks to its revolutionary `direct-to-consumer' business model. However, after having dominated the PC landscape during the 1980s and the 1990s, the ferocious cost-cutter, the sobriquet Dell earned due to its practice of maintaining zero or lean inventory always, has been struggling to regain its old glory.

But the key question is: Can the comeback CEO put his PC machine back on track after having suffered reverses in the last 2-3 years? Dell, who launched his namesake company from his university's dorm room in 1984 when he was barely 19 years old, has not given up and is pinning hopes on a series of cost-cutting measures including layoffs and a slew of acquisitions to regain the past glory. The acquisition of Perot is seen as a major attempt in that direction, as the company strives to transform itself from being a pure manufacturing player to an integrated IT services provider.

The Analyst Magazine, Perot Systems, Information Technology, IT, Health-Insurance, Electronic Health-Care, Healthcare Group, Software Solutions, Technology Services, Global League, Economic Slowdown, Tata Consultanct Services, TCS.