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Dell Inc.'s (DELL) proposed acquisition of Perot Systems Corp. (PER) for $3.9 billion may be just what the doctor ordered for the computer maker's fledgling services business.

Round Rock, Tex.-based Dell generates around 60% of its roughly $61 billion in annual revenue selling computers and servers. Now, the company is following other competitors that have expanded from hardware into services, like International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ).

Unlike those companies, however, Dell isn't trying to be all things to all men. Rather, Dell is building on its already prominent government and healthcare business, the very industries Perot Systems specializes in serving. That could make Dell even more attractive to its clients looking for both packages of hardware and advice on how to deploy it.

Though Dell is late to the services sector, its timing might prove opportune. Tech spending in the approximately $2.5 trillion U.S. health-care industry is expected to grow as much as 10% this year, according to findings from a recent survey by market tracker IDC. That natural growth could get a boost if the Obama administration is successful pushing through health-care reform, which would expand coverage to millions of Americans.

Also auguring well for the acquisition: An earlier economic stimulus proposal that has large dollops of cash directed toward the government and healthcare sectors. IDC identified about $23 billion in spending on government and healthcare IT as part of the stimulus package.

"We believe that (Perot Systems') strong health-care and Federal government business create sustainable competitive revenue opportunities for the combined companies," BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachman wrote in a note. He added that while Dell would have an overexposure to the U.S., that could benefit the company in the near term because the country will likely emerge from the recession earlier than Europe.

Of course, the acquisition won't propel Dell into the top rankings of IT services providers. Perot Systems has annual revenue of just $2.8 billion. That's a far cry from H-P's acquisition of EDS last year, which turned it into a services powerhouse, or IBM's decision to start shifting its business to high-margin services.

Now, Dell is making the same move, though in a deliberately narrow fashion. Capitalizing on its own strengths, analysts say, is the smart way for Dell to look for growth.

"It's a step in the right direction in addressing Dell's services capability," said Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu.

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com