Like HP and other PC manufacturers in the post-iPhone tech era, Dell is hedging its bets by investing in software and security services.

Today Dell announced its acquisition of Quest Software has been completed. Quest is an IT management software provider that offers systems, security, applications, and business intelligence services. Dell states that Quest offers “next-generation” virtualized and cloud environments that will be “highly complementary” to Dell’s scalable mid-market design approach.

“The close of the Quest acquisition is a tremendous milestone in Dell’s journey to strengthen our end-to-end IT capabilities, empowering our customers to unlock greater value in their Dell technology investments, as well as their overall IT environments,” said John Swainson, president of Dell Software. “We are addressing key needs for our customers, helping them leverage the cloud, support ‘bring-your-own-device’ in their enterprise, and deploy mobile applications and virtualization to drive improved business results. The addition of Quest Software into Dell’s software portfolio will extend our industry-leading suite of solutions to a broader range of customers and partners, while simplifying operations, maximizing workforce productivity and delivering faster results.”

The $2.4 billion acquisition was approved by Dell stockholders at a meeting on September 25. Dell estimated a 2 to 3 cent dilutive impact on earnings per share in fiscal 2013 due to the purchase, and 4 to 5 cents in fiscal 2014.

Dell estimates that the acquisition of Quest brings Dell 100,000 customers, 5,000 channel partners, and a “$1 billion-plus” annual software business. In addition, the company brings with it 1,500 sales and marketing employees, as well as 1,300 software developers.