Dell has completed its $155m acquisition of web-based email archiving firm MessageOne.

Dell plans to add MessageOne into its growing stable of software-as-a-service acquisitions, alongside remote management firms SilverBack and EverDream, as well as licensing firm ASAP.

The vendor hopes that this "arsenal" of services will allow it eventually to offer a complete remote IT administration service in which Dell manages nearly all aspects of day-to-day system operation.

"Companies currently spend 70 per cent of their IT budgets maintaining their current infrastructures and dealing with routine issues," said Steve Schuckenbrock, president of Dell's global services business.

Dell is building a services supply chain designed to simplify the purchase, delivery and management of IT infrastructure services for companies and improve price and performance.