Segment Information - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended								12 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 United States	Dec. 31, 2012 United States	Dec. 31, 2011 United States	Dec. 31, 2013 International	Dec. 31, 2012 International	Dec. 31, 2013 Revenues Geographic risk Country	Dec. 31, 2011 Revenues Geographic risk Country	Dec. 31, 2010 Revenues Geographic risk Country	Dec. 31, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure	Jun. 30, 2013 Pivotal Limited Partner	May 08, 2013 Pivotal Limited Partner	Dec. 31, 2013 EMC Pivotal	Dec. 31, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure plus Pivotal	Dec. 31, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure plus Pivotal	Dec. 31, 2011 EMC Information Infrastructure plus Pivotal	Dec. 31, 2013 VMware Virtual Infrastructure Within EMC Corp	Dec. 31, 2012 VMware Virtual Infrastructure Within EMC Corp	Dec. 31, 2011 VMware Virtual Infrastructure Within EMC Corp	Dec. 31, 2013 Corp Reconciling Items	Dec. 31, 2012 Corp Reconciling Items	Dec. 31, 2011 Corp Reconciling Items	Dec. 31, 2013 Pivotal	Dec. 31, 2012 Pivotal	Dec. 31, 2011 Pivotal
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of operating segments																				3
Number of countries, other than United States, that accounted for 10% or more of total revenue																	0	0	0
Long-lived assets, excluding financial instruments, deferred tax assets, goodwill and intangible assets												$ 4,433	$ 3,994		$ 877	$ 698
Joint Venture, Ownership Interest Percentage																						10.00%	84.00%
Payments to Acquire Interest in Joint Venture									411	228	383										105
Revenues	6,682	5,539	5,614	5,387	6,030	5,278	5,311	5,094	23,222	21,714	20,008	12,230	11,510	10,550										18,075	17,239	16,303	5,147	4,475	3,705	0	0	0	309	270	130
Gross profit	4,224	3,442	3,509	3,298	3,890	3,288	3,347	3,113	14,473	13,638	12,169													10,274	10,049	9,262	4,589	3,976	3,189	(390)	(387)	(282)	118	153	76
Gross profit percentage									62.30%	62.80%	60.80%													56.80%	58.30%	56.80%	89.20%	88.90%	86.10%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	38.00%	56.70%	58.60%
Research and development									2,761	2,560	2,151													1,570	1,526	1,286	826	700	550	365	334	315	117	124	70
Selling, general and administrative									7,338	7,004	6,479													4,732	4,639	4,468	2,003	1,739	1,430	603	626	581	165	155	120
Restructuring and acquisition-related charges									224	110	97													0	0	0	0	0	0	224	110	97	0	0	0
Operating Expenses									10,323	9,674	8,727													6,302	6,165	5,754	2,829	2,439	1,980	1,192	1,070	993	282	279	190
Operating Income (Loss)									4,150	3,964	3,442													3,972	3,884	3,508	1,760	1,537	1,209	(1,582)	(1,457)	(1,275)	(164)	(126)	(114)
Nonoperating Income (Expense)									(285)	(160)	(193)													(336)	(177)	(252)	22	27	7	29	(10)	52
Income tax provision									772	918	640													911	968	805	317	271	134	(456)	(321)	(299)
Net income									3,093	2,886	2,609													2,725	2,739	2,451	1,465	1,293	1,082	(1,097)	(1,146)	(924)
Less: Net income attributable to the non-controlling interest in VMware, Inc.									(204)	(153)	(148)													0	0	0	(297)	(255)	(209)	93	102	61
Net income attributable to EMC Corporation	$ 1,022	$ 586	$ 701	$ 580	$ 870	$ 626	$ 650	$ 587	$ 2,889	$ 2,733	$ 2,461													$ 2,725	$ 2,739	$ 2,451	$ 1,168	$ 1,038	$ 873	$ (1,004)	$ (1,044)	$ (863)