Business Combinations, Intangibles and Goodwill - Goodwill (Details) $ in Millions	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of the period	$ 17,090
Goodwill resulting from acquisitions	47
Balance, end of the period	17,137
Information Storage
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of the period	9,185
Goodwill resulting from acquisitions	0
Balance, end of the period	9,185
Enterprise Content Division
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of the period	1,478
Goodwill resulting from acquisitions	0
Balance, end of the period	1,478
RSA Information Security
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of the period	2,203
Goodwill resulting from acquisitions	0
Balance, end of the period	2,203
Pivotal
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of the period	187
Goodwill resulting from acquisitions	9
Balance, end of the period	196
VMware Virtual Infrastructure within EMC
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of the period	4,037
Goodwill resulting from acquisitions	38
Balance, end of the period	$ 4,075