Dell to challenge Cisco with Force10

Tech giant, Dell has agreed to buy Force10 Networks, a manufacturer of networking equipment for data centres, for an undisclosed amount, reports Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Dell says the purchase is part of its strategy to expand its portfolio of data centre technology.

According to The Toronto Star, Dell has built out its storage portfolio through a series of recent acquisitions including EqualLogic, Compellent, and Exanet.

The San Francisco Chronicle says Dell considered purchasing Brocade, a maker of switches for data storage networks, and opted instead to buy Force10 because its Ethernet technology is said to be more advanced than Brocade's fibre channel based technology.

Dell's acquisition of Force10 Networks is expected to heat up competition against networking rival Cisco, reveals Reuters Canada.

Cisco's switching business has seen sales fall in recent quarters, and analysts argue the company has stretched itself too thin by making several large acquisitions in the consumer market, causing it to lose focus of its core switching and routing businesses.

Force10, which generated about $50 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2011, has an edge over competitors.

Force10 serves booming social media companies like Facebook and Zynga as well as giants like Google.