CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (USD $)	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 3,125,610,000	$ 4,119,138,000
Short-term investments	1,635,533,000	1,256,175,000
Accounts and notes receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $60,264 and $57,385	2,650,392,000	2,569,523,000
Inventories	1,104,143,000	856,405,000
Deferred income taxes	642,716,000	609,832,000
Other current assets	789,329,000	372,249,000
Total current assets	9,947,723,000	9,783,322,000
Long-term investments	4,499,373,000	4,170,742,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,756,003,000	2,528,432,000
Intangible assets, net	1,851,967,000	1,624,267,000
Goodwill	12,153,651,000	11,772,650,000
Other assets, net	1,221,954,000	953,871,000
Total assets	32,430,671,000	30,833,284,000
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	1,007,805,000	1,062,600,000
Accrued expenses	2,357,448,000	2,090,035,000
Income taxes payable	0	199,735,000
Convertible debt	3,280,957,000	3,214,771,000
Deferred revenue	3,325,466,000	2,810,873,000
Total current liabilities	9,971,676,000	9,378,014,000
Income taxes payable	243,206,000	265,549,000
Deferred revenue	2,398,596,000	1,853,263,000
Deferred income taxes	624,183,000	717,004,000
Other liabilities	242,967,000	217,449,000
Total liabilities	13,480,628,000	12,431,279,000
Convertible debt (See Note 4)	144,862,000	235,229,000
Commitments and contingencies (see Note 14)
Shareholders' equity:
Preferred stock, par value $0.01; authorized 25,000 shares; none outstanding	0	0
Common stock, par value $0.01; authorized 6,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 2,039,957 and 2,069,246 shares	20,400,000	20,692,000
Additional paid-in capital	2,818,523,000	3,816,681,000
Retained earnings	15,288,575,000	13,659,284,000
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net	(220,302,000)	(92,617,000)
Total EMC Corporation's shareholders' equity	17,907,196,000	17,404,040,000
Non-controlling interest in VMware, Inc.	897,985,000	762,736,000
Total shareholders' equity	18,805,181,000	18,166,776,000
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$ 32,430,671,000	$ 30,833,284,000