Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended						12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 Cash Flow Hedging	Dec. 31, 2012 Cash Flow Hedging	Dec. 31, 2011 Cash Flow Hedging	Jul. 31, 2012 Interest rate swap contract	Jun. 30, 2012 Interest rate swap contract	Apr. 30, 2012 Interest rate swap contract	Nov. 30, 2011 Interest rate swap contract	Dec. 31, 2013 Interest rate swap contract	Dec. 31, 2010 Interest rate swap contract	Dec. 31, 2013 Maximum Foreign Exchange Contract	Dec. 31, 2013 Maximum Cash Flow Hedging	Dec. 31, 2013 Furniture and fixtures Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Furniture and fixtures Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Equipment and software Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Equipment and software Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Improvements Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Improvements Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Buildings Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Buildings Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Pivotal	Dec. 31, 2013 VMware	Dec. 31, 2012 VMware
Principles of consolidation
Percentage of ownership interest in VMware, Inc.																							84.00%	80.00%	80.00%
Foreign currency translation
Net losses from foreign currency transactions	$ 2	$ 16	$ 13
Derivatives
Contract maturity													1 year	6 months
Derivative, Notional Amount				384	201	194						900
Realized loss on replaced interest rate swap contracts							46		23	141
Accumulated realized losses in other comprehensive income related to previously-anticipated interest payments reclassified from other comprehensive income and recognized in the consolidated income statements								40
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Cumulative Changes in Net Gain (Loss) from Cash Flow Hedges, Effect Net of Tax											176
Allowance for doubtful accounts receivable
Current	62	68
Non-current (included in other assets, net)	3	4
Allowance for doubtful accounts receivable, total	65	72
Property, plant and equipment
Useful life (in years)															5 years	10 years	2 years	10 years	5 years	31 years	15 years	51 years
Software development costs
Unamortized software development costs	762	703
Amortization expense for software development costs	427	398	380
Capitalized amounts for software development costs	487	432	480
Advertising
Advertising costs	$ 23	$ 30	$ 44