Dell set to buy network, data protection company

Dell has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SonicWALL Inc., a provider of advanced network security and data protection.

Financial and other terms of the deal were not reported.

The acquisition of SonicWALL will expand Dell’s rapidly growing security portfolio, which includes Dell SecureWorks security services, cloud security solutions and data encryption solutions, and Dell KACE vulnerability and patch management, a March 13 Dell announcement said.

SonicWALL’s next-generation firewalls and unified threat management firewalls complement Dell’s security solutions portfolio, enabling the company to offer customers a broader range of enterprise offerings.

The San Jose, Calif., company has more than 130 patents, registered and pending, and develops all of its own key security gateway intellectual property, used by more than 300,000 customers. 

Dell Inc., of Round Rock, Texas, ranks No. 15 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.