Segment Information - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	6 Months Ended							6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013 segment	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure segment	Jun. 30, 2013 United States	Dec. 31, 2012 United States	Jun. 30, 2013 International Segment	Dec. 31, 2012 International Segment	Jun. 30, 2013 Geographic Concentration Sales Revenue, Segment Country	Dec. 31, 2012 Geographic Concentration Sales Revenue, Segment Country	Jun. 30, 2013 Geographic Concentration Long-lived Assets, Total Country	Dec. 31, 2012 Geographic Concentration Long-lived Assets, Total	Jun. 30, 2013 Pivotal Limited Partner [Member]	May 08, 2013 Pivotal Limited Partner [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 EMC [Member] Pivotal
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of federated businesses	3
Number of operating segments			3
Joint Venture, Ownership Interest Percentage													10.00%	84.00%
Payments to Acquire Interest in Joint Venture	$ 158	$ 107										$ 105
Number of countries other than the US that accounted for 10% or more								0	0	0	0
Long-lived assets, excluding financial instruments, deferred tax assets, goodwill and intangible assets				$ 4,166	$ 3,994	$ 802	$ 698