In its latest step into the services market, computer giant Dell said yesterday that it has signed an agreement to buy privately-held software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Everdream.

Dell said that the planned acquisition of the California-based remote service management firm would complement the capabilities it gained from the buy-out of managed services business SilverBack earlier this year.

After decades shunning the indirect market, the struggling computer maker said in May that it would slip into bed with resellers in the hope of shifting more boxes.

This latest planned acquisition highlights Dell's desire to quickly build up services relationships customers in new technology areas as it retools the entire business to get out of its growth slump.

Everdream has more than 140,000 business desktops on its books for companies that include Brocade Communications Systems, Midas and Sonic Automative.

Financial terms of the deal were not revealed. ®

Related stories

• How Perot Systems played hard to get with Dell (5 October 2009)
• Dell shows world its web services face (27 February 2008)
• Symantec heads for the cloud with storage and back-up service (19 February 2008)
• SaaSy Dell 2.0 buys MessageOne for $155m (12 February 2008)
• Dell marries WPP in big ads push (3 December 2007)
• Analysis Does Dell scorn EMC with EqualLogic buy? (7 November 2007)
• Dell bets big on storage (5 November 2007)
• Channel to Dell - you've lost (21 September 2007)
• Dreamforce Salesforce force feeds SaaS to the masses (17 September 2007)
• Analysis AMD's tier one partners sing homage to Barcelona (11 September 2007)
• Dell to acquire ASAP (2 August 2007)