Security solution vendor SonicWall has been purchased by Dell, as the company continues to diversify away from its traditional PC manufacturing business.

Founded in 1991, SonicWall has a network of around 15,000 resellers around the world servicing over 300,000 customers. The company also has 130 patents for security technology.

SonicWall was formerly a public company, but was acquired by an investor group in 2010 for US$717 million. Although Dell hasn’t disclosed the value of the purchase, analysts estimate it is worth between US$1 billion and US$1.5 billion.

John Swainson, president of Dell Software Group, says Dell’s customers have said security is ‘a key IT concern’ for the foreseeable future.

"SonicWall gives Dell access to unique intellectual property resources and technology that position us well in fast-growing parts of the software security business,” Swainson says in a statement.

Speaking for SonicWall, company CEO and president Matt Medeiros says Dell’s reach into the small and mid-size company market ‘provides a significant opportunity to expand our customer base’.

"Dell’s distribution, reach and brand are well-recognised across the industry,” Medeiros says.

"This transaction aligns well with Dell’s mid-market design focus and allows us to accelerate growth of our flagship SuperMassive next-generation firewall solutions with large enterprise customers.”

Both companies’ boards have approved the deal, which is expected to be completed subject to regulatory approval in the next few months.

The SonicWall brand is distributed in New Zealand by Connector Systems.