Dell has bolstered its enterprise portfolio by agreeing to acquire managed service provider SilverBack Technologies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

SilverBack provides software and support allowing customers to manage their IT systems remotely. Dell plans to add Silverback's products into its own IT services package.

Jeff Kaplan, managing director at consulting firm Think Strategies, wrote in a company blog: "Dell is in a unique position to capitalise on SilverBack's capabilities because it has a strong relationship with customers as a result of its direct sales heritage. 

"This relationship permits Dell to deliver managed services that can demonstrate a greater commitment to ensure the reliability, security and business value of its products."

Kaplan warned, however, that Dell's decision to supplement the direct sales model with a retail channel could complicate the managed service offering.

"This effort will require Dell to segment its managed service offerings to fit its direct and indirect channel strategies," he wrote. "As Cisco, Sun and other vendors have learned, this is not an easy balancing act."

The move follows a broader effort by Dell to revamp its business model and recover from several quarters of disappointing performance.

The rebuilding effort was kicked off by the reinstatement of founder Michael Dell as chief executive. 

Since then, the company has retooled its business model and upgraded consumer offerings to lure a wider audience with such options as Ubuntu Linux and solid-state hard drive notebooks.