Basis of Presentation Basis of Presentation (Policies)	6 Months Ended
Basis of Presentation Basis of Presentation (Policies)	Jun. 30, 2014
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Nature of Operations [Policy Text Block]	Company EMC Corporation ("EMC") and its subsidiaries develop, deliver and support the information technology ("IT") industry’s broadest range of information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure technologies, solutions and services. EMC manages the Company as part of a federation of three businesses: EMC Information Infrastructure, VMware Virtual Infrastructure and Pivotal. EMC’s Information Infrastructure business provides a foundation for organizations to store, manage, protect, analyze and secure ever-increasing quantities of information, while at the same time improving business agility, lowering cost, and enhancing competitive advantage. These benefits are primarily achieved though virtualization. EMC’s Information Infrastructure business comprises three segments – Information Storage, RSA Information Security and Information Intelligence Group. EMC’s VMware Virtual Infrastructure business, which is represented by EMC’s majority equity stake in VMware, Inc. ("VMware"), is the leader in virtualization infrastructure solutions utilized by organizations to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume IT resources. VMware’s virtualization infrastructure solutions, which include a suite of products designed to deliver a software-defined data center, run on industry-standard desktop computers and servers and support a wide range of operating system and application environments, as well as networking and storage infrastructures. EMC's Pivotal business ("Pivotal") was formed in the second quarter of 2013. Pivotal unites strategic technology, people and programs formerly within EMC and VMware, including Greenplum, Cloud Foundry, Spring, Cetas, Pivotal Labs, GemFire and other products. Pivotal is building a new platform comprising next-generation data fabrics, application fabrics and a cloud independent platform-as-a-service ("PaaS").
General	General The accompanying interim consolidated financial statements are unaudited and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") for interim financial information. These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of EMC, its wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as VMware and Pivotal, companies majority-owned by EMC. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in our annual consolidated financial statements have been condensed or omitted. Accordingly, these interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013 which are contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 25, 2014. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected for any future period or the entire fiscal year. The interim consolidated financial statements, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments necessary to fairly state the results as of and for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2014 and 2013.
Net Income Per Share	Net Income Per Share Basic net income per weighted average share has been computed using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per weighted average share is computed using the weighted average number of common and dilutive common equivalent shares outstanding during the period. Common equivalent shares consist of stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units, the shares issuable under our $1.725 billion 1.75% convertible senior notes due 2013 (the "2013 Notes") and the associated warrants. Additionally, for purposes of calculating diluted net income per weighted average share, net income is adjusted for the difference between VMware’s reported diluted and basic net income per weighted average share, if any, multiplied by the number of shares of VMware held by EMC.
Reclassifications and comparability of prior year financial data	Reclassifications Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform with the current year's presentation. During the first quarter of 2014, the Information Storage segment acquired the Data Computing Appliance and implementation services businesses from the Pivotal segment. The acquisition of these businesses was accounted for as a business combination between entities under common control. We reflected the impact of the transaction in our segment and included the financial results of the acquired businesses in the Information Storage segment and excluded these from the Pivotal segment for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014. We recast the segment disclosures for the prior financial reporting period to present the impact of the transaction. None of the segment reclassifications impact EMC's previously reported consolidated financial statements. See Note 15 for further discussion of the segment reclassifications.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements In June 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued a standards update on accounting for share-based payments when the terms of the award provide that a performance target could be achieved after a requisite service period. The standard is effective beginning January 1, 2016, with early adoption permitted. We do not expect it to have a material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In May 2014, the FASB issued a standard on revenue recognition providing a single, comprehensive revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers. The revenue standard is based on the principle that revenue should be recognized to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard is effective beginning January 1, 2017, with no early adoption permitted. The amendments may be applied retrospectively to each prior period presented or retrospectively with the cumulative effect recognized as of the date of initial application. We are currently evaluating the adoption method options and the impact of the new guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In April 2014, the FASB issued new accounting guidance on reporting discontinued operations and disclosures of disposals of components of an entity which clarifies the scope of what should be reported as discontinued operations and expands required disclosures. This new guidance is effective beginning January 1, 2015, with early adoption permitted. The impact of this guidance will be dependent on the nature and significance of any transactions within the scope of this new guidance. In July 2013, the FASB issued new accounting guidance on the presentation of unrecognized tax benefits. This new guidance requires an entity to present an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, as a reduction to a deferred tax asset when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss or a tax credit carryforward exists, with limited exceptions. The prospective adoption of this new accounting guidance in the first quarter of 2014 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In March 2013, the FASB issued guidance that requires a parent company to release any related cumulative translation adjustment into net income only if the sale or transfer results in the complete or substantially complete liquidation of the foreign entity in which the subsidiary or group of assets had resided. The adoption of this new accounting guidance in the first quarter of 2014 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Disclosure of accounting policy for computing basic and diluted earnings or loss per share for each class of common stock and participating security. Addresses all significant policy factors, including any antidilutive items that have been excluded from the computation and takes into account stock dividends, splits and reverse splits that occur after the balance sheet date of the latest reporting period but before the issuance of the financial statements.

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