Segment Information - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) Country segment	Mar. 31, 2015 Country	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
United States
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-lived assets, excluding financial instruments, deferred tax assets, goodwill and intangible assets | $	$ 4,566		$ 4,584
International
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Long-lived assets, excluding financial instruments, deferred tax assets, goodwill and intangible assets | $	$ 1,037		$ 1,053
Geographic Concentration | Sales Revenue, Segment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of countries other than the US that accounted for 10% or more | Country	0	0
Geographic Concentration | Long-lived Assets, Total
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of countries other than the US that accounted for 10% or more | Country	0	0
EMC Information Infrastructure
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of operating segments | segment	3