Desktone Partners with HP to Deliver Virtual Desktops as a Service

Business Wire, May 12, 2008

Desktone Announces Service Provider Partner Program

CHELMSFORD, Mass. -- Desktone, Inc., provider of the first solution that enables virtual desktops as a service, today announced that it has created the Desktone Service Provider Partner Program to enable service providers in the IT hosting, IT outsourcing and datacom businesses to offer desktops as a service (DaaS) based on the Desktone Virtual-D Platform. The company also unveiled that Hewlett-Packard's Flexible Computing Services (HP FCS) signed on as the first member of Desktone's Partner Program.

"The trend towards desktop virtualization presents service providers with a tremendous opportunity. Enterprises want to leverage virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) but are not deploying it because it is too costly and complex to do internally. Service providers can help these customers quickly and cost-effectively benefit from VDI," said Les Yetton, Senior Vice President, Sales Marketing and Business Development, Desktone. "By partnering with Desktone, service providers can offer customers a new, value-added service through a high-margin, repeatable and easily managed solution. We're extremely pleased that, by signing on to our program, HP is demonstrating that it recognizes the value DaaS can provide to their business, and to their customers."

"HP FCS believes desktops as a service represents a significant opportunity for our customers to take full advantage of the benefits VDI offers while eliminating the challenges and costs of deploying VDI internally at scale," said Christopher Smith, Americas Business Development Manager of HP FCS. "We are excited to be the first to join the Desktone Service Provider Partner Program and take a lead role in delivering on the promise of virtual desktops as a service. Through HP FCS, HP customers can now deploy desktops completely as a service, and pay on a monthly basis for only the desktops they have deployed, as a pure operating expense. HP takes care of everything, right up to the thin-client: the datacenter, infrastructure, software, connectivity and operations."

Desktone Service Provider Program

Desktone's program is targeted at service providers who are already in the hosting or outsourcing businesses and who want to leverage their existing data center assets to tap into significant revenue from the next wave of hosting solutions. Partners who sign up in 2008 will have direct input into the Virtual-D Platform product direction, as it continues to evolve into the platform-of-choice for hosting DaaS. Partners will be able to develop end-to-end monthly subscription offerings, based on Virtual-D, that leverage their unique value add.

Benefits to Service Providers

Desktone helps service providers accelerate time-to-revenue by providing the only end-to-end virtual desktop platform designed specifically for hosted, subscription-based DaaS. With this solution, service providers can:

* Provide an offering that enterprises want but aren't equipped to implement: Corporations recognize the value that virtual desktops can provide, however, adoption is hindered by the complexities inherent in internally-developed VDI. Service providers can remove the barriers to enterprise implementation by offering virtual desktops as a service--providing desktop virtualization and related data center management expertise that are difficult for enterprises to handle in-house.

* Leverage existing assets: Service providers offering Desktone-powered DaaS can maximize utilization of their data center space, connectivity and power assets, potentially yielding a much higher ROI.

* Capture new service revenue: Using Desktone technology to deliver hosted virtual desktops as a subscription service enables Desktone partners to provide highly scalable, carrier-class DaaS while efficiently managing their infrastructure and maintaining service level agreements with customers.

The Virtual-D Platform enables service providers to offer hosted, subscription-based virtual desktops. The only solution that integrates all desktop virtualization layers through a single, automated self-service platform, it helps enterprises quickly realize the full benefits of centralized virtual desktops without having to build and deploy the infrastructure internally. And because the Virtual-D Platform is uniquely designed along two tiers (enterprise and service provider), it lets enterprises maintain ownership and control over their desktops while outsourcing the physical data center infrastructure powering those virtual desktops.

For more information, attend the Desktone webinar on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 from 12-1pm EST: "Capitalize on Virtual Desktop Opportunity to Deliver Next Generation Services." To explore service provider partnership opportunities with Desktone, please contact Desktone at partners@desktone.com or 1-978-710-0583.

For information on Hewlett-Packard's Flexible Computing Service and Virtual Desktop Service, go to http://www.hp.com/go/EngageFlexibleComputing and click on "Engage HP Flexible Computing Services Now."