Segment information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014
Revenues:
Product revenues	$ 3,269	$ 3,400	$ 9,399	$ 9,728
Services revenues	2,810	2,632	8,290	7,663
Total consolidated revenues	6,079	6,032	17,689	17,391
Gross profit	$ 3,705	$ 3,743	$ 10,631	$ 10,744
Gross profit percentage	60.90%	62.00%	60.10%	61.80%
Research and development	$ 802	$ 767	$ 2,372	$ 2,239
Selling, general and administrative	2,145	1,990	6,285	5,852
Restructuring and acquisition-related charges	68	39	226	187
Total operating expenses	3,015	2,796	8,883	8,278
Operating income (expense)	690	947	1,748	2,466
Non-operating income (expense), net	6	(114)	11	(253)
Income tax provision	168	206	420	532
Net income	528	627	1,339	1,681
Less: Net income attributable to the non-controlling interest in VMware, Inc.	(48)	(40)	(120)	(113)
Net income attributable to EMC Corporation	480	587	1,219	1,568
EMC Information Infrastructure
Revenues:
Product revenues	2,567	2,745	7,519	7,878
Services revenues	1,781	1,721	5,299	5,043
Total consolidated revenues	4,348	4,466	12,818	12,921
Gross profit	$ 2,331	$ 2,511	$ 6,792	$ 7,202
Gross profit percentage	53.60%	56.20%	53.00%	55.70%
Research and development	$ 397	$ 372	$ 1,219	$ 1,106
Selling, general and administrative	1,220	1,146	3,591	3,388
Restructuring and acquisition-related charges	0	0	0	0
Total operating expenses	1,617	1,518	4,810	4,494
Operating income (expense)	714	993	1,982	2,708
Pivotal
Revenues:
Product revenues	22	17	57	43
Services revenues	45	41	128	118
Total consolidated revenues	67	58	185	161
Gross profit	$ 24	$ 27	$ 71	$ 71
Gross profit percentage	36.20%	46.90%	38.70%	44.30%
Research and development	$ 28	$ 33	$ 79	$ 98
Selling, general and administrative	54	46	156	133
Restructuring and acquisition-related charges	0	0	0	0
Total operating expenses	82	79	235	231
Operating income (expense)	(58)	(52)	(164)	(160)
EMC Information Infrastructure Plus Pivotal
Revenues:
Product revenues	2,589	2,762	7,576	7,921
Services revenues	1,826	1,762	5,427	5,161
Total consolidated revenues	4,415	4,524	13,003	13,082
Gross profit	$ 2,355	$ 2,538	$ 6,863	$ 7,273
Gross profit percentage	53.30%	56.10%	52.80%	55.60%
Research and development	$ 425	$ 405	$ 1,298	$ 1,204
Selling, general and administrative	1,274	1,192	3,747	3,521
Restructuring and acquisition-related charges	0	0	0	0
Total operating expenses	1,699	1,597	5,045	4,725
Operating income (expense)	656	941	1,818	2,548
Non-operating income (expense), net	2	(120)	7	(285)
Income tax provision	185	207	494	584
Net income	473	614	1,331	1,679
Less: Net income attributable to the non-controlling interest in VMware, Inc.	0	0	0	0
Net income attributable to EMC Corporation	473	614	1,331	1,679
VMware Virtual Infrastructure within EMC
Revenues:
Product revenues	680	638	1,899	1,807
Services revenues	984	870	2,863	2,502
Total consolidated revenues	1,664	1,508	4,762	4,309
Gross profit	$ 1,451	$ 1,304	$ 4,143	$ 3,761
Gross profit percentage	87.20%	86.50%	87.00%	87.30%
Research and development	$ 274	$ 263	$ 788	$ 737
Selling, general and administrative	651	586	1,896	1,725
Restructuring and acquisition-related charges	0	0	0	0
Total operating expenses	925	849	2,684	2,462
Operating income (expense)	526	455	1,459	1,299
Non-operating income (expense), net	4	6	24	21
Income tax provision	89	99	285	274
Net income	441	362	1,198	1,046
Less: Net income attributable to the non-controlling interest in VMware, Inc.	(77)	(73)	(224)	(211)
Net income attributable to EMC Corporation	364	289	974	835
Corp Reconciling Items
Revenues:
Product revenues	0	0	(76)	0
Services revenues	0	0	0	0
Total consolidated revenues	0	0	(76)	0
Gross profit	$ (101)	(99)	(375)	(290)
Gross profit percentage	0.00%
Research and development	$ 103	99	286	298
Selling, general and administrative	220	212	642	606
Restructuring and acquisition-related charges	68	39	226	187
Total operating expenses	391	350	1,154	1,091
Operating income (expense)	(492)	(449)	(1,529)	(1,381)
Non-operating income (expense), net	0	0	(20)	11
Income tax provision	(106)	(100)	(359)	(326)
Net income	(386)	(349)	(1,190)	(1,044)
Less: Net income attributable to the non-controlling interest in VMware, Inc.	29	33	104	98
Net income attributable to EMC Corporation	(357)	(316)	(1,086)	(946)
Information Storage
Revenues:
Product revenues	2,424	2,595	7,113	7,447
Services revenues	1,537	1,456	4,539	4,260
Total consolidated revenues	3,961	4,051	11,652	11,707
Gross profit	$ 2,071	$ 2,238	$ 6,014	$ 6,405
Gross profit percentage	52.30%	55.20%	51.60%	54.70%
Enterprise Content Division
Revenues:
Product revenues	$ 37	$ 36	$ 103	$ 108
Services revenues	107	118	333	358
Total consolidated revenues	144	154	436	466
Gross profit	$ 97	$ 100	$ 291	$ 300
Gross profit percentage	67.30%	65.20%	66.80%	64.40%
RSA Information Security
Revenues:
Product revenues	$ 106	$ 114	$ 303	$ 323
Services revenues	137	147	427	425
Total consolidated revenues	243	261	730	748
Gross profit	$ 163	$ 173	$ 487	$ 497
Gross profit percentage	66.90%	66.30%	66.70%	66.40%